


Take me Home

by Nigg



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Back to Earth, Comfort/Angst, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Dancing, Dreams vs. Reality, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Happy Ending, Homesick Lance (Voltron), Homesickness, Latin American Dance, Light Angst, M/M, Mentions of canon events, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Keith (Voltron), Returning Home, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-03-27 19:39:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13887765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nigg/pseuds/Nigg
Summary: Three years have passed since the Paladins left Earth to fight against the Galra Empire. The war is won and they have returned home and are trying to deal with being back to their ordinary lives. When Lance starts ditching the Paladins' regular meetings, Keith gets worried and goes to his house to check on him.





	1. Lance

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This isn't my main fandom because I usually write YOI but I've been toying with this idea for a while and I decided to give it a try! It's not going to be a long fic, probably four chapters? I posted some snippets on [my Tumblr ](https://onpointedfeetandbrokendreams.tumblr.com/) if you want to take a peek! Some are from the following chapters, so there may be spoilers! Anyway, I hope you'll like the story!

_ Of the three years I’ve been in Space, I remember everything, and yet nothing. I remember the training, negotiating with allies, traveling from planet to planet. I remember the fighting, actual Wars against the Galras and frustrated battles with the other Paladins caused by being forced to live together without anyone else around and by the wide, insurmountable, Earth-shaped hole in our hearts. The tears that devoured us at night and the fake smiles we put on in the mornings to try and not make things worse for the others. But everything is blurred together. We tried to maintain a routine, adjusting the lights in the Castle of Lions to simulate day and night cycles but, after a while, our “days” were separated only by distress signals and emergency calls. There wasn’t ever an actual time for ourselves to just stay and breathe and consider what was happening around us and why. Everything we did had a purpose. We slept or ate when we needed to gain strength, we talked to each other when we needed to bond as a team in order to be able to form Voltron. We treated each other like family but we had to, whether it was so as not to feel completely and utterly alone or to achieve the necessary confidence with each other that our Lions needed. If it had ever been real, I will probably never know. Now that I’m back, I’m trying to put the pieces together. Reconnecting with my family has the priority. Then, I really don’t know. The Galran menace has been defeated but what we did isn’t exactly something you can write on your curriculum. Only few people on Earth know what happened, we decided it would be better that way. We all have an Altean communicator device that allows us to keep in touch with Allura and Coran and allows them to reach us if they need the Paladins again but we are all trying not to spend each and every day waiting for it to go off. We are always going to be Paladins but we are also trying to move on _ . 

 

_ Above all the other things, I remember a recurrent dream. One that I dreamed so many times that I can’t recall if it was based on something that actually happened or if it was just a fantasy from the beginning. It’s another something that I will probably never know. In the dream, I wake up on the blue Lion to see the Ocean outside. It looks just like the one that I could see from my window back at my parent’s house. I walk out and smell the familiar scents of Earth. The seaside, the trees, the sea. Everything is just like I remember it. I start crying, overwhelmed by too many emotions and, turning around I see my house. The Ocean wasn’t similar to the one I used to see, it was exactly the same. I run and see my family there. They are a bit more scarred by the time that passed and by the sorrow of losing a son but they are moving around the place about their own business. My sister teasing my mother’s obsession for cleaning, my father watching over them fondly, my brother playing in the garden. I don’t have the heart to approach them, knowing all too well that I will have to leave again soon. I watch them for a while, with my chest swelling with love and feeling able to breathe again for the first time since I left. Then, I turn around and the Lion is there to catch me and bring me back to the Castle. I never told anyone about it, but that dream has always been the thing that I clung to when I felt like I was going crazy _ .

 

*

 

It was silent around the house, the distant sounds of the life at the beach coming and going with the breeze. Keith almost felt bad at breaking the quiet atmosphere by knocking on the door but he had come a long way to be there. He took a deep breath and waited.

 

He heard shuffling from inside the house, muffled steps and finally a tired voice answering:

 

“Who is it?”

 

“Hello, this is Keith, I’m a friend of Lance’s. Is he home?”

 

The boy himself opened the door with a baffled expression. “Hi. What are you doing here?”

 

Keith gave him a tentative smile. “I didn’t recognize your voice. You missed the last of our ‘Paladin’s meeting’... And the one before, is everything okay?”

 

“Yeah, it’s just… I don’t know. Come inside, do you want a glass of water? Or juice? I may have some of my mother’s cake left.”

 

“A glass of water would be nice. Thank you.”

 

Lance moved from the doorway to make way for him to step in and lead him into the kitchen.

 

“Your house is very nice,” commented Keith, taking in his surroundings. It wasn’t a fancy place but it was lived in and overflowed with coziness and love.

 

“Thank you.”

 

They drank their water in silence, both unable to find words to start a conversation but it wasn’t uncomfortable, they had shared so much in the past three years that they didn’t need to speak to understand what the other was thinking.

 

When Lance’s eyes were turning too wistful, Keith snapped:

 

“Are you busy today? Would you like to do something?”

 

“You mean, like, together? Um… What can we even do? We have nothing in common and we don’t like each other.”

 

Keith chuckled. “Come on, we are past that, Lance. We have lived together for three years, we have at least one or two things in common like… Killing Galras?”

 

“Are you volunteering? Because the only Galra we can find on this Planet is probably you.”

 

“No, no, no...”, this time he outright laughed, making Lance smile. “On the drive here I saw that there’s a sort of Fair nearby, we could go shoot things. They are not Galras but maybe it could be fun anyway.” He suggested.

 

Lance pondered it, then smirked. “Well, that doesn’t sound bad, actually. Should we make this a challenge? Even if it probably isn’t fair considering we all know who the best shooter is among us.”

 

“You’re on. I trained, you know?”

 

“We’ll see. Give me five minutes to change clothes and leave a note to my mother.”

 

“Sure, I’ll wait here.”

 

*

 

_ I never had that dream since I returned to Earth but I can’t stop thinking about it. Every time I try to picture it, I find myself focusing on different details. I don’t know why this is still obsessing me. I’m here, now, I can have new experiences of the same situation every day instead of dwelling on an imaginary one. Yet, nothing gives me quite the same comfort. Since I returned, I have never felt completely at home. I keep feeling like I don’t belong, like I’m not meant to be here anymore. My family still loves me, of course, and I them, with all my heart, but I can see that they have their own routines that don’t include me. It makes my chest tighten and I look for solace in the same place as I did when I was in Space. The peaceful sensations that I got from waking up in the familiar cold and metallic scent of the blue Lion and hearing laughing and far-away conversations in a language that sounded unbelievably like Spanish. More often than not, I lose myself in the memory of it, chasing the feelings like a lifeline. I would hear the talking in Spanish and think that I must have forgotten to change the settings of my translator again, since I had found a way to include my mother-tongue into it and I used it more often than I’d like to admit. Then I would open my eyes slowly and ask myself why I was sleeping in the blue Lion, since I was positive that I wasn’t on a mission but I had fallen asleep in my room. Rubbing my eyes I would walk around to try and figure out where we landed and seeing a beach outside and the sea I would think that it really looked like Earth. Relief, hope and then disappointment, realizing that it is must be a dream. I would shrug and tell myself that I didn’t care if it wasn’t real because it felt so and then hoping that I didn’t wake up too soon. Thinkin ‘Please, let me enjoy hearing humans laughing and chatting in Spanish, let me walk barefooted on the sand for a little longer’. So why as I do those exact same things now I don’t feel the same way? _

 

*

 

The drive to the Fair wasn’t long but they found enough time to start bickering either way, this time over what radio station to tune to. Lance thought that it was good to see that some things never changed. In the end, Keith got tired and shut it down completely. They stopped in a parking lot and walked the remaining distance. Keith kept his hands in his pockets and his gaze straight ahead of him, but he noticed in the corner of his eyes, that Lance’s were sparkling with mirth. He smiled quietly, careful not to let him see it. He knew that the prospect of a challenge always had that effect on him but he was happy that he could help.

 

They went straight to the gaming stalls and played for almost an hour, first throwing balls against dubiously heavy bottles, then shooting with plastic guns to various kinds of objects, from simple targets to colorful and weird-shaped ones. 

 

“I told you that I have trained,” commented Keith when they called it a day, deciding that going on with the games would only worsen Lance’s score. He whined in response. “If I had my Bayard...”

 

“If you had your Bayard, we would now be in prison and I think that I’m the last person with which you would want to be confined with in such a small place.”

 

“Hm… I can probably think of one or two people that I’d like less than you… Like… Lotor.”

 

“No, you would have the time of your life with Lotor! You could steal his secret for perfect skin and hair care.”

 

“Damn, you are right! How is it even legal to have his hair? Too bad we couldn’t ask him.”

 

“We were busy defeating his father.”

 

“Yeah...” Lance trailed off and Keith saw that shadow behind his eyes again. He regretted his last sentence immediately and, biting his tongue, he looked around for something to distract him with.

 

“I’m hungry, would you like to eat?”

 

A mischievous glint crossed Lance’s face. “Sure, do you want to remain here? Otherwise, I can show you  _ my land _ .” He posed dramatically with his arms extended as he said the last part.

 

“Lead the way.”

 

“Aren’t you afraid that I would bring you to a dark corner and rob you or something?”

 

“Just for this day, I’m going to trust you.”

 

Lance faked a gasp. “The great Keith completely in my hands for one day. What can a poor man do to deserve such luck!”

 

Keith shoved him and followed his lead outside of the park and back to his car. 

 

*

 

_ I remember with extreme clarity the last time I had my recurrent dream. It was the day that we planned on returning home and I was so anxious about it that my sleep was troubled. After hours of nightmares, I welcomed the familiarity of the scene with tears of relief. My consciousness took refuge in that dream, so much that I felt dizzy when I woke up the following morning. Maybe that’s the reason why it seemed to be slightly different from all the other times. I remember trying to focus my vision and catching a glimpse of something black and red that instantly disappeared. Maybe I imagined it completely and I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t there all the other times, so what was it? Usually, the first thing I focus on as I wake up in the dream is the metal scent of Blue. Why that day it has been different? Or the black and red had always been there and I just don’t recall it? After that it went on as usual. From the screens of the blue Lion’s control room, I saw the very familiar scenery of the Ocean. It’s always the same, so I know by now that if I go to the beach I can feel the sand under my feet and sometimes I can even bathe before I wake up. I don’t know why this dream is always so realistic but it grounds me even if it is only my imagination causing it. I also know that if I walk towards one particular direction I will find my family’s house. My mother and my sister will be teasing each other, my brother will be playing with his toys and my father will be watching over them. Those images never change. But I swear that I can smell their scents, hear their voices and feel the familiarity of the view warming my heart so I go anyway, every time that I sleep and have this dream. _

 

*

 

“Okay, so, that’s my _ abuelita _ ’s house and there’s the park I used to go every time when I was little with my siblings or my friends and  _ here  _ is the best restaurant ever.” Lance was moving his long arms and slender fingers around, pointing excitedly to the things as he talked. Keith looked at the  _ best restaurant ever _ with a raised brow. “Seriously? Space Restaurant?”

 

“Come on, it’s going to be fun!” He exclaimed, dragging Keith from the bottom of his shirt and pulling him inside.

 

“Good afternoon, Lance! How are you?” Asked the woman at the front desk with a big smile. She had tanned skin, almost the same tone as Lance’s and her hair was long and wavy. She wore some sort of dress with a shape that reminded that of a spacesuit. Keith found himself snorting. Lance ignored him and replied to the waitress with a mirroring smile:

 

“I’m fine, thanks! And you? Do you have a table for two to have lunch?”

 

“So far so good, thank you. Sure, anything for you and your friends, dear. Come.” She motioned for them to follow her and she lead them to one of the free tables. They were all white and surrounded by a sort of alcove with plastic controls and painted screens and radars that made the ensemble look like a spaceship. Lance’s grin was so wide that his cheeks must surely be hurting. Keith smiled against his will.

 

“Ah! You smiled, I won!” Blurted out Lance when he saw it.

 

“Fine, it’s pretty good.”

 

“I knew you would have liked it, eventually! You just had to get over your preconceptions! Behind all those superiority and hate for social interactions, you were just a space-kid like me.”

 

“Eh? What should I be superior to? And I never hated social interactions it was just… Difficult! Though, I suppose I was a space-kid, that much is true.”

 

“Come on, man… Top of the class? Too good for school? I don’t recognize you as my rival because you are no match for me?”

 

“I never said any of those,  _ Lance _ .”

 

“Maybe you never said it but you thought all of them,  _ Keith _ .”

 

“How do you know what I thought? If anything, it was you who were full of preconceptions against me.”

 

The waitress brought them the menus and Lance bit back his venomous reply. The interruption gave him a moment longer to consider Keith’s words. When they were left alone and he spoke again, his tone was subdued:

 

“I wasn’t that easy to deal with back then, I guess. I’m sorry if I treated you badly.”

 

“I wasn’t exactly a piece of cake, either. Don’t worry. We were young and the situation wasn’t helping. Actually, I think that arguing with you made me get through it all. It was something I knew how to deal with, unlike anything else that was happening around me.”

 

Lance hummed, unsure about how to respond but understanding nonetheless. So much had changed in those three years, none of them was the same as the first time they met. Even if they never stopped fighting with each other, in time it lost all of the heat behind and it became more of a routine, something they can be sure of. They would never admit it, but both of them relied on it. They opened the menus to distract themselves and avoid the weight of that train of thoughts to crush them but the words were hanging in the air between them.

 

“... Lance, this is all in Spanish.”

 

“Uh-uh”

 

“Lance?”

 

“Oh! Right! I’m sorry I forgot! I’ll translate for you and explain everything you need to taste.”

 

With that, they started talking about their different homelands’ food and ordered way too many dishes for just two people. The mood inside of the plastic spacecraft improved considerably.

 

*

 

_ Whenever I feel lost, my thoughts fill with a single word: ’Blue’. Blue is my color, the color of the armor that I used to wear every day. It is the color of the Ocean that so much reminded me of my home. It’s the color and the name of the robot Lion that I used to pilot. The word brings with it the familiarity of Blue, the sounds of the Lion’s control room, the scents... Inevitably, it also makes me think of my dream. Before we came back, I used those moments in the imaginary seaside in my sleep to find peace before I had to wake up and go back to the routine of the Castle. I never stopped to consider exactly what was happening after the first time, I would bask in the feeling of the sand under my bare feet, the sight of the crystalline water and its scent filling my lungs, the smiles on the faces of my family. Whatever happened and for how much time I didn’t care. Now, though, walking on the actual seaside and admiring the real water, I feel a stranger to my own skin. I cling desperately to the memory of those dreams, trying to recollect as many details about them as I can to keep the memory alive. I dread the day that I’ll forget about it and lose my safe haven. It’s for this reason that I keep analyzing over and over all the little differences that, in time, I noticed in the various instances of the dream. Like the scents. There were always metal, the Altean product we used for cleaning, my own clothes, but I remember that sometimes, I would smell something that was foreign in there. I never thought much about it because it probably had no meaning and it was just a trick of my mind but now I need everything I can get. I don’t remember what it smelled like but I remember thinking that it was exactly as familiar to me as the blue Lion but that was out of place inside of it. _

 

*

 

They left the Space Restaurant late in the afternoon and walked over to the seaside to enjoy the quiet of the emptying beach and admire the setting sun. Lance forced Keith to remove his shoes to better appreciate the moment. “If you can’t  _ feel  _ the sand under your feet there is no point in this!”

 

Keith had relented, knowing that there was no point in arguing with Lance when he believed that something was an  _ essential experience _ . All in all, it had been a perfect day. One he didn’t believe he could have with Lance. He was almost sorry that he would have to leave soon. 

 

As if sensing his thought, Lance spoke in a hushed voice:

 

“You know, you could… Stay... If you want... For a while.”

 

Keith knew that he had nowhere to go, no one to go back to. It was true that he  _ could _ stay, hypothetically, but why _ would _ he want to? Why would  _ Lance  _ want him to? Then he turned to look at him and noticed that his expression was pained, almost terrified. It was something that he used to see a lot when they first started living in the Castle of Lions and that he had hoped not to see ever again. It swept away all his doubts.

 

“Okay,” he answered simply.

 

Lance smiled a little, relieved smile. It had been a long time since he had felt as comfortable with himself as he had that day. He really didn’t want it to end.

 

They kept moving in silence, directing their steps back to the car and then to Lance’s home.

 

Once there, Lance introduced him to the rest of his family as ‘one of his friends from that mission in space I told you about, remember?’. Keith shook their hands and ruffled the hair of Lance’s little brother.

 

“ _ Mama _ , Keith is going to stay here for a bit, can we give him the guest room?”

 

“Sure,  _ mijo _ but you’ll both need to help with dinner since you told me on such short notice.”

 

“We will,” he answered before motioning for Keith to follow him inside the house.

 

“I can lend you some clothes from when I was little if you want to change into something more comfortable,” Lance offered with a smirk.

 

Keith pouted. “I’m not  _ that _ shorter than you!”

 

“Whatever you need to tell yourself to feel better.”

 

They prepared the guest room for Keith to sleep in, took turns to have a shower and change clothes and then readied themselves to help Lance’s mother with the dinner, as promised.

 

The evening passed between light conversations and soon Lance’s family retired for the night. Lance could see that they were both tired and he was about to suggest that they went to sleep as well but the mere thought of being alone again made him feel an all too familiar twist in his gut and pain in his heart. He was desperate for something, anything to avoid it. He found himself thinking back at Keith’s question from earlier that day. If Keith asked it, so could he, right?

 

“Would you like to do something?”

 

Concern was seeping through his voice despite his attempt at hiding it and Keith’s answer was immediate:

 

“Any ideas?”

 

Just like that, he was breathing again. “It depends. I could crush you at video-games, crush you at swimming in the Ocean or we could go outside and have a drink somewhere.”

 

Keith smirked. “You don’t think you could crush me at drinking, this is something I’m going to note down.”

 

“Not everything has to be a competition,  _ Keith _ .”

 

“You could have fooled me,  _ Lance _ .”

 

They were glaring at each other, their noses inches apart. It was a scene that they had replayed so many times that they both burst out laughing.

 

“Do you really think we can go swimming this late, though?” Said Keith, pondering the options that Lance had listed.

 

“Mm, it’s probably better to postpone that until the morning, my mother would kill us if she found out.”

 

“Your family is nice.”

 

“Yeah, they are...” 

 

“Then, video-game it is. I’ll let you choose which to play first.”

 

*

 

_ The weirdest part of this recurrent dream of mine was that it felt like every time I could choose what I wanted to do. What to focus on, when to leave the inside of the blue Lion, where to go on the beach. If I’d rather walk or swim or immediately go and see my family. Almost nothing changed, the children laughing and chatting were always the same, telling the same things, my parents and siblings were in the same positions, but it was different from an ordinary dream, where everything is fuzzy. It was exactly the opposite. It’s the reason why I loved it, why I would wake up recharged from it, why to this day I keep losing myself in the reminiscence of it. Even if I never understood the reason why it was like that, I never cared. _

 

*

 

After three hours of playing every possible type of video-games that Lance or one of his siblings possessed, including one about taking care of a pony which Lance swore it wasn’t his - but from the possessive look in his eyes, Keith didn’t believe him in the slightest - they were positively exhausted. Their eyes red from looking at the screen too much but their cheeks aching from laughing. They even forgot to mark their scores.

 

“I think we should really go to sleep now. We can have a rematch tomorrow,” suggested Lance with a sigh. 

 

“I think it’s a good idea.”

 

Keith got up from the couch and stretched his back, raising his arms above his head and bending his neck backward.

 

“My clothes don’t look so awful on you,” commented Lance, tiredness having the best on him and making his thoughts flow from his mouth unfiltered. He tensed, realizing what he said but Keith just raised a brow. “Who are you and what did you do to Lance?”

 

Lance swatted the back of his hand on his side. “I was trying to be  _ nice _ .”

 

“Don’t, it’s weird.”

 

He chuckled and stepped on his feet as well to retire to their respective rooms. “By the way, thank you for today. For coming here to check on me and everything.”

 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s difficult for all of us, to be here, trying to find our place again. It’s not something that others can understand. You would have done the same for any of us.”

 

Lance is not very convinced. He hums. “Do you ever miss it?”

 

“What?”

 

“Everything… Space, fighting in the war, being a  _ paladin _ … While I was there the only thing I could think about every night was how much I missed home. Now that I’m here, lazing around and doing nothing it’s just… Every day out there I felt useful, I felt like my existence had a purpose.”

 

“You will always be a paladin, Lance. It’s true, our life here is less frantic and there aren’t life or death situation to address at every moment but that doesn’t make it any less meaningful. You take care of your family and you can find a job at the Garrison or wherever you want, you just have to choose. Besides, if the Universe is ever in danger again, they would know who to call.”

 

“We went from saving the World to worrying about what job to choose...”

 

“Whatever you choose you are going to be amazing, Lance.”

 

“I… You really think so?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Thank you.” His voice was so small, Keith felt something tighten in his chest. He just nodded, not trusting his voice.

 

They walked slowly side by side towards the corridor where they would need to separate. Just as they were about to pass in front of Lance’s room, he stopped.  Shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other he asked:

 

“Could… Could you sleep with me? Just for tonight?”

 

Keith stared at him, blinking rapidly, too surprised to see the look of pure panic in his eyes. “What?”

 

“I-I-I’m sorry, forget I asked,” Lance babbled and before Keith had time to recover from the shock and form a coherent answer, he slammed his door shut behind him.

 

Lance flopped face first on his bed, his face burning red and his breath itching. It took him what felt like hours to calm down.

 

For a similar amount of time, Keith stood, one hand hovering over the wood of the door, unable to make up his mind about what to do. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you want, let me know what you think in the comments or come find me on Tumblr, I would love to hear from you!


	2. Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn more about Keith's POV and Lance has a breakdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check the tags, if there are some topics you may be uncomfortable with. I hope you'll like my little story! <3

_ Before we were thrown into Space, I was always by myself. My father had died and I knew nothing about my mother. I had lost the man I considered as a mentor and a brother to a Space mission and I couldn’t bear to go to that school anymore. I lived in the desert, alone, doing researches about the Kerberos mission all day. I missed out on a lot of things, I think. I had never been one that made friends easily with people but it worsened since Shiro disappeared. Then I was drawn to the blue Lion and everything changed. Suddenly, I was not alone, I was a Paladin, I was a friend. Nothing made sense out there but on the inside of the Castle, in our little bubble of disorganized normality, for the first time I felt what it meant to be part of something, to be part of a family. I still was a bit of a loner, especially after we discovered that I was half-Galra and my intrusive and edged personality hadn’t changed but they accepted me, eventually. I had no one to miss on Earth but I could feel the homesickness anyway, even when I tried not to acknowledge it. I held on to the others that were confined there with me more than I ever let them notice. I needed the ‘ordinary’ things that didn’t change day by day more than air, fighting with Lance, rambling with Pidge and Hunk, strategizing with Allura and Shiro, even cleaning and listening to Coran’s stories. _

 

_ Maybe that was the reason why I noticed immediately that there was something wrong with him. It was less than a year since we left when he started closing up on himself. He wouldn’t answer to provocations, he would accept it when I teased him with a shrug instead of picking up a fight like he used to do. He stopped hitting on every alien we stumbled upon, he stopped making jokes. I couldn’t stand it. It was killing me to lose that part of my everyday life. I knew that it was wrong but someone had to do something to change that. We would have all fallen apart if he did because the only thing we had was each other. _

 

*

 

Keith woke up in the guest room in Lance’s house still feeling conflicted. He rubbed his eyes and turned on his pillow, letting out a frustrated groan. He had been right in worrying about his fellow Paladin. They were all struggling to adapt to being back to their previous lives but he didn’t expect to see him  _ that  _ vulnerable. He sighed, not knowing what he was supposed to do but knowing that he couldn’t leave Lance to himself. He tossed his clothes back on and left the room.

 

In the kitchen, he found a coffee pot, a cake and a note, probably meant for Lance since he managed to understand only the words for ‘Good morning’ and ‘cake’ on it. Lance was not there yet but they had parted awkwardly the night before, so he decided to bring him breakfast, hoping that a nice gesture would cool things down between them. He prepared two cups and two slices of the cake, put them on a platter that he found nearby and walked over to Lance’s door. He knocked and heard a whine in response. “What is it,  _ mama _ ? Let me sleep.”

 

He would have snorted if it wasn’t that Lance’s voice sounded hoarse.

 

“Lance, it’s me. Can I come in?”

 

He stuttered. “I… Yes, sure.”

 

Keith entered the room slowly, carrying the trail, took a deep breath and ripped the band-aid: 

 

“Do you want to talk about it?”

 

“Can we not?” Lance answered in a pleading tone, without looking at him.

 

“Okay... I brought you some breakfast, I found it ready in the kitchen, I hope it’s alright.”

 

His head whirled around at that and he looked at Keith with eyes wide in surprise. “Really? Of course, thank you!”

 

Noticing that, other than widened, his eyes were also red and puffy, Keith frowned. “Did you sleep at all?”

 

“...No.”

 

“Lance... What is it? I know that it didn’t mean what it looked like when you asked me… You know… So, if something is troubling you, you have to talk about it. If you don’t want to do it with me then I can call Shiro or someone else...”

 

He offered the coffee and the cake and Lance took them with a grateful smile before mumbling:

 

“Can we… Not do it now? I would like to have another day like yesterday... Maybe we could go to the beach? Like we said?”

 

“Yes but Lance, I can’t stay here forever and you can’t pretend everything is alright.”

 

“I know just… Another day? Please?”

 

He looked so small that Keith couldn’t really refuse.

 

*

 

_ They called Lance the goofball among us and, in a way, they were probably right. He was always teasing, playing, getting enthusiastic about the silliest things like a child, showing a number of different emotions with the wide gestures of his hands and the looks in his soulful, big eyes. What they didn’t say was how much we all needed it. He was the one that most kept the group together, Pidge and Hunk used to lose themselves in technological debates that we couldn’t follow and Shiro was always busy coordinating our next moves. It was Lance who fought to have the video-game nights, who created occasions for us to ease our tension with the “Paladins’ dinners”, who made us laugh and forget about our situation even if just for a moment. He was also the one that never backed off when there was something to do. An amazing fighter and an amazing leader, who did everything without losing his smile. It was refreshing to watch. I don’t know what we could have done without someone like him to keep our morale high and to prevent us from feeling the weight that we had on our shoulders. Without his good-natured spirit, we would have all been lost. I don’t know if he ever realized how much we clung to him. I will probably never know, like I will never know the entity of his pain. What I could see was that, after a while, he stopped being himself, whether it was just caused by homesickness or if he was anxious or depressed I can’t tell. We should have been focusing on our Mission to save the Universe but we also needed to preserve ourselves as we did that. We couldn’t let Lance drain himself out and lose his smile. I couldn’t let him. I waited to see if the others noticed too but everyone was busy with his own struggle. I was the only one who had no one to wait for them back home and no one to look for out there. That’s why I decided that it should be me to do something to help. _

 

*

 

They stopped at a store on their way to the seaside so that Keith could buy some suitable clothes and a towel. Then, they laid on the sand and Lance kept giggling all the time while Keith covered the entirety of his skin in sunscreen, complaining about it. “Don’t laugh at me, it’s not funny.”

 

“It is. I definitely won this competition before it even started!”

 

“What competition?”

 

“For the best tan.”

 

He huffed. “There’s no way it is fair to consider this a competition between us.”

 

Lance pursed his lips in a mock pout. “Poor Keithy, he is all pale and he can’t stand the sun.”

 

“Don’t tease me or I’ll leave at this exact moment.”

 

“Ouch! That’s a low blow! Is this how you want to play it, now? I have to do everything you want or you’ll threaten me to leave?”

 

Keith froze, turning to look at him to see if he was being serious or not. He relaxed when he saw Lance’s smirk. “You know I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, nonetheless, to make sure that there weren’t misunderstandings on the matter between them.

 

“Of course, don’t worry. I was just kidding. How much time are you making me wait for a bath?”

 

“I have to wait until the sunscreen dries but you can go ahead, if you want.”

 

“Keith, man, we are trying to  _ bond  _ here, you have to stop pushing me away like this! I’ll wait for you so that you won’t turn into a lobster.”

 

“Are you still going on with this thing of the bonding? It’s been three years! Give me a break. Besides, I’ll turn into a lobster anyway, so...”

 

He shrugged and Lance laughed. “I’ll never let go of the  _ bonding _ , it’s too funny to see how much you get mad when I use it against you.”

 

“I hate you.”

 

“Me too,” he replied easily, but the tone and his expression were affectionate.

 

They waited with Lance asking every second something on the line of “Can we go, now?”, “And now?”, “What about now?” until Keith relented. “Fine,” he said with all the exasperation he could muster. Lance beamed and hopped to his feet. They dived in and the relaxing bath immediately turned into a swimming competition that, of course, Lance won. “This isn’t fair, either, _Lance_ ,” Keith commented, but he let him cheer and whoop at his victory.

 

When the cold of the Ocean was starting to seep through their bones, they returned to bask in the sun. 

 

“What’s the plan, now? Do you have another one of your  _ places  _ to show me?” Keith asked.

 

“Hm… Actually, I think that it could be fun to just go home and cook something for us, what do you think?”

 

“Cook? Do you remember the mess we used to make every time we tried to do it in the Castle? We most definitely cannot cook unless there’s Hunk supervising it.”

 

“Pleaseeee! My parents are going to be out until later today, so we’ll have time to clean up after, they won’t even notice!”

 

“Yeah but we won’t be able to eat anything and we will starve to death!”

 

“If it comes to that, we’ll order a pizza.”

 

Keith still thought that it was the worst idea ever but he agreed with a shrug.

 

*

 

_ After that awful period, Lance got better. He never talked about it and I wonder if he even remembers what happened but what was important was that he started smiling again. He would sometimes retire to his room to be alone and think but, when he went out, he would be back to his happy self. We got used to that new normality and things were good. We still missed Earth, of course, but we could focus on our Mission again. We fought, we struggled but we did what needed to be done. I never brought up the topic because we didn’t really have that kind of confidence between us and he never said anything so I guess he thought that it was better if we pretended it didn’t happen. Then, I left to join the Blade of Marmora, time passed, we grew up. When I got back we had become more mature people, there was no need to dig back up things long gone in the past. I was happy to see that they were still the same, despite everything and that Lance had managed not to fall back into that pit of whatever it was. When we won and they told us that we could come back, we felt relief and happiness at first but as soon as the question ‘what will become of us, now?’ formed in our minds, a wave of panic built up in our guts. What would become of us when we returned to Earth? Would we still be Paladins? Would we still be needed? And would we still feel like a little family or would we lose our bond and go back to our separate lives? _

 

*

 

“We should choose a recipe that is new and foreign to the both of us,” started Lance as they walked back to his home to ruin their chances of having a lunch.

 

“Yeah sure, because otherwise we would be  _ so  _ expert that it wouldn’t be fun,” Keith commented sarcastically. 

 

“Don’t ruin the mood, mullet!”

 

He raised his hands in a surrender pose. “Fine, I’ll look something up on the Internet.”

 

“That’s the spirit!”

 

Keith huffed and typed on his browser ‘simple recipes’. After scrolling through the results for a while, he raised a brow. “This looks easy enough.”

 

Lance propped an elbow on his shoulder to look at the screen and whistled. “French cuisine, fancy! Okay, let’s try it. What do we need?”

 

“Flour, eggs, milk, water, salt, butter and something for the filling.”

 

“Got it. We should find all of them at that store,” he said pointing to their left.

 

They retrieved the necessary ingredients and returned to the house. After a couple of failed attempts, they managed somehow to cook some edible  _ crepes  _ with different kinds of fillings, some had meat, others cheese or vegetables. To celebrate the success of the event, Lance pulled out two glasses of wine and offered one to Keith, proposing a toast “to our good team.”

 

Keith couldn’t suppress a soft smile, recalling all the other times the two of them had shared those same words in a very different context. “It shouldn’t be a surprise to you, we have already established that,” commented Keith.

 

The openness in his expression and his words made a sudden warmth spread through Lance’s chest. He was taken aback by it. Despite everything that they had shared, he had never stopped to think about it but he realized that it was true, they were a good team, they knew it, they kept proclaiming that they were rivals but it had been nothing more than a playful banter for a long time already. “Yeah, we have,” he breathed. If his cheeks were a little red as he did so, he blamed the wine.

 

“We should send Hunk a picture, he won’t ever believe that we managed to cook something otherwise!” Said Keith with amusement, oblivious to Lance’s realizations.

 

Lance was brought back to reality by the thought of his best friend and immediately agreed. “We definitely should.”

 

As he took his phone out of his pocket a thought occurred to him and made him stop dead in his tracks. “Wait, they don’t know that we are together right now, what will we tell them?”

 

“Oh… It’s okay, if you don’t want me to be in the picture, just say that you did it by yourself.”

 

“No, no, we did this together, you should be there too! I was just...”

 

“Lance, you worry too much. It’s not like we escaped to Vegas or something.”

 

“No, it’s worse! We are in my house, alone, making French _crepes_.”

 

Keith laughed. “It is _us_. They know who we are, they won’t think anything of it. We lived together for three years in Space! It is natural that we are more comfortable around each other than ordinary people do.”

 

“...You are probably right.”

 

They posed for the picture and Lance stared at it in wonder. “It’s too cute, we should post it on Facebook, too! Do you have Facebook, Keith?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Facebook! The social network?”

 

“Oh, yes, I completely forgot! I used to have it but I hadn’t opened my profile since we came back, I wonder if it’s still there.”

 

“You know? Me neither, actually...”

 

“We have to learn how to be proper  _ Earthlings  _ back from the beginning,” teased Keith. Lance giggled.

 

They sent the picture to Hunk, Pidge and Shiro, showing the two of them covered in pieces of dough and proudly displaying the plate of  _ crepes  _ in front of them, then moved to Lance’s PC to try and see if they could remember how to access to their Facebook profiles.

 

“Look, we aren’t even friends on Facebook,” Lance exclaimed as he managed to open the page, his lips curved into a small pout.

 

“Well… We weren’t exactly friends before we left.”

 

“I’m going to send you a request now.”

 

“Does that mean that I’ll have to accept it? I don’t know about it, Lance, it is a huge step,” Keith replied, moving away from him.

 

“What?? My Facebook profile is amazing, you should be honored to have me as a friend there.”

 

“Hm… I’ll consider it.”

 

“You are the worst! Oh, they answered. Pidge says: ‘Why the Hell are you two together by yourselves, do you have a death wish?’”

 

Keith laughed. ”I told you.”

 

“Yeah, you were right… Hunk says that he is proud of us and that we should invite him next time! My bro is the best!”

 

“I bet Shiro will leave us on ‘viewed’”.

 

“No, he will say ‘Please, don’t murder each other’.”

 

“The loser does the dishes?”

 

“Deal,” said Lance, turning to him with a defiant expression and the widest of the grins.

 

*

 

_ The day they told us that we could go back to Earth, we were ecstatic. We cried tears of relief, the weight of the Universe suddenly was out of our shoulders, for some time at least. We knew that we would need to always be ready to go back in case someone needed Voltron but we could take it easy for the first time in three years. We shared sympathetic smiles and congratulations and we retired to our rooms to pack. As soon as I was alone, the reality of the situation hit me. We would separate, I would go back to my shack in the desert. Could I really return to my previous life after tasting what it felt like to be part of something bigger than myself? Could I go back to not have a family to rely upon? Could I handle not feeling so important and needed as I did in those years? I’m still trying to find those answers. I know that we can make our lives meaningful even from Earth, we just have to find our place but without the Paladins’ meetings that Shiro insists we do periodically, I don’t know if I could handle the loneliness. I count the days that separate one of those meetings from the following. That and the hope that my Altean communicator would suddenly buzz in my pocket are what keeps me going whenever I feel lost. I don’t know if it’s the same for the others, they all had something to wait for them here, so probably not. Pidge, Matt, Hunk and Shiro immediately started working for the Galaxy Garrison, while Lance and I are taking some time for ourselves first. He because he rightly wanted to reconnect with his family, I because… I really don’t know. I didn’t have a defined path in my life before we left. I had dropped school, I had nothing. And it’s not very different now. Things here haven’t changed much. I just wanted to stop and think. _

 

_ * _

 

Shiro wrote almost exactly what Lance predicted. He laughed so hard that he fell from his chair while Keith glared at him, accepting his destiny.

 

“Apparently, today is my day for the challenges,” gloated Lance, positioning himself behind him as he approached his task.

 

“Just because you are cheating.”

 

“I am not.”

 

“Yes, you are! Tan, swimming and social interactions? Seriously, what did you expect?” Keith deadpans, giving him a pointed look.

 

“If you put it that way… Then, you’ll decide what our next contest will be!”

 

He hummed in consideration. “Let me think… What can be something that you are bad at?”

 

“Nothing. I’m too awesome,” crooned Lance.

 

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

 

“Then, I dare you to find a thing that you are absolutely certain that you are better than me at.”

 

Keith put down the soap and the fork he was washing to face him with a smirk. “I could find a thousand.”

 

“Go ahead then.”

 

He started listing, counting on his fingers as he did so. “Sword fighting, hand-to-hand combat, piloti...” - Lance interrupted, pointing a finger to his chest:

 

“First, I trained and improved  _ a lot _ in all of those, I should at least be able to have a fair match! Second, I was talking about  _ Earth  _ things. We can’t go around and fight nor we have our Lions here.”

 

“Yeah, you are probably right, in the end we were almost at the same level with the sword and the fighting skills.”

 

Lance gaped. “What? Really? Thank you, I never thought that you would admit it.”

 

“I’m not as mean as you want to depict me, nor I hate you. Not for real...”

 

“I don’t hate you for real either. It means a lot to hear you say that, though. That you acknowledged my improvements, I mean.”

 

“I should have been more honest with you from the beginning. I’m sorry if you felt that I didn’t... I’ve always acknowledged you and your abilities. I know how hard you worked.” He turned back to his dishes as he said so and almost missed Lance’s hushed ‘Thank you’. It made him smile to hear the pure gratitude in his voice. He had always known that Lance didn’t give himself much credit but he thought that that much at least was evident.

 

When he finished paying for the lost bet, he dried his hands and noticed that Lance was still there, his eyes fixed on him but unfocused. He snapped his fingers in front of him. “Is everything okay?”

 

“Oh. Yes. Sorry, I zoned out… I’m tired, I guess...”

 

It occurred to Keith that Lance hadn’t slept the previous night. “What about instead of hurrying into another challenge we stay here this afternoon? You could use some rest... If you don’t want to sleep, we can watch a movie?” 

 

Lance shivered realizing how much those words made him feel at ease. It shouldn’t be comfortable to lazy around in his house with  _ Keith _ but the only thing he could think of was how relieved he had been at the suggestion. All because seeing that Lance was tired, he had said  _ ‘we  _ can watch a movie’ instead of  _ ‘you  _ should go to rest’.

 

“It’s probably a good idea, thank you.”

 

“No problem.”

 

They moved to the couch and nuzzled into the cushions, then Lance groaned. “Oh no, I hadn’t considered this! It’ll take hours for us to agree on a movie! I’m too tired!”

 

“What about this. Put on your all-time favorite, I’ll close my eyes until it starts and I promise not to complain or judge you.”

 

Lance blinked a couple of times. “Who are you and what did you do to Keith?”

 

He laughed, experiencing a sense of deja vu. He rolled with it. “I was trying to be  _ nice _ .”

 

Lance joined in his laugh and they shared a knowing smile. “I’ll probably fall asleep as soon as it starts, either way, so you can shut it down and do whatever you want after.”

 

“Okay.”

 

He went to his room to retrieve a box and he cradled it like it was the most important treasure in the Universe, then he extracted a Blue-Ray from it and put it on. It was really not a surprise that  _ Star Wars _ started playing.

 

“I like  _ Star Trek _ more, if I have to choose, but it’s not so bad,” commented Keith as soon as Lance gave him permission to look.

 

Lance rolled his eyes half-heartedly. “Of course you do.”

 

As expected, Lance fell asleep not even ten minutes into the movie. Keith glanced at his peaceful expression and couldn’t look away. He wanted Lance to be always like that. Relaxed, content. It was an odd feeling but not an unpleasant one.

 

*

 

_ From the first one of our Paladins’ meetings, I sensed that something was off with Lance. He looked like he did back in the first year in the Castle of Lions. I thought that maybe it was just a passing thing, that he was just struggling to adapt to be home again like we were all doing. He didn’t talk much and I didn’t want to impose. Maybe I was wrong in thinking that. Maybe I should have just said something as soon as I noticed. I don’t know. He never talked to me directly about his issues before and I thought that maybe I wasn’t the right person for it so I did nothing. When he stopped coming altogether, I regretted it deeply. I should have known better because I had already experienced a similar thing before. Sometimes you don’t have to be the right person, you just have to be the one that’s there. That’s the reason why after the second meeting he missed I didn’t return home. I still didn’t know what to say to him or what to do, nor what to expect but I didn’t care. Someone had to go. Again, there was no reason why it shouldn’t be me. _

 

_ * _

 

Lance woke up late in the evening to the smell of his mother’s cooking. It had been a good idea, he felt better now that he was fully rested. He had to thank Keith again. He opened his eyes slowly and found the boy in question sleeping next to him, much closer than he had been when the movie began. He tapped lightly on his shoulder to wake him up, dinner was surely about to be ready and they’d better go and help with it. Keith mumbled in his sleep and Lance chuckled. It was weird to see him so exposed. When he opened his eyes they stared at each other, both still only half awake.

 

“Hi,” Lance said, “sorry if I woke you up, but it’s pretty late.”

 

“It’s okay...”

 

Keith stretched his arms and back but stayed there. None of them wanted to be the first one to move. Lance was biting the inside of his cheek.

 

“What is it?” asked Keith, noticing.

 

“Can I ask you something?”

 

“It depends… Is it dangerous?”

 

Lance smiled and shook his head.

 

“Okay, then, ask.”

 

“Could you hug me?”

 

If Lance had asked him something similar the day prior, he would have probably freaked out. In that moment, it felt natural. He didn’t even think about it and just nodded. “Sure, come here.”

 

He opened his arms and Lance shifted to encircle his waist and dive his nose into his neck. It was like years of tension melted away from him in an instant. He felt his carefully constructed barriers collapse and he couldn’t refrain the tears that had been eating him alive for such a long time anymore. He cried and all the concerns, the frustration, the anxiety washed over him and into Keith’s shoulder. 

 

Keith let him, whispering words of comfort and tracing patterns with his fingers on his back to soothe him. “Don’t worry, you are not alone. I’m here for you. I got you. You can do this. You are amazing. You’ll be amazing whatever you do.”

 

They didn’t know how much time they spent like that. After a while, Lance’s tears stopped to flow but he was breathing unevenly so he didn’t move from the comfort that the strong arms around him were giving him. His mother entered the room and took in the scene. Keith flushed a deep red and bit his lip with a concerned expression, not knowing what to say and afraid that she would blame him for making her son cry but she just smiled sadly at him, understanding. She mouthed ‘don’t worry, I’ll leave something for you to eat in the kitchen, take the time you need’ and left them.

 

When Lance’s breathing evened, he raised his head to meet Keith’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. Keith shook his head. “Don’t worry, I get you, I’m here for you.”

 

Instead of answering, Lance kept staring at him. He was dizzy from all the crying but he felt that the usual twisting in his gut had dissolved. It was strange to feel so at peace, without that all too familiar pain in his chest. Keith’s eyes in front of him were so deep, he could see in them the concern mixed with a profound tenderness and some other emotions that he couldn’t tell apart in his daze. His gaze fell to his lips, they were curved in a soft smile that took his breath away for a completely different reason. He realized that he was leaning closer to him without consciously deciding to do so and before any of them could properly understand what was happening, the distance between them had vanished and all he could focus on was the overwhelming feeling of warm arms tightening around him and smooth lips meeting his own.

 

Keith felt like the few seconds before went by in a blur and his mind didn’t catch up until it was too late. Then it was like time had frozen. His world had shifted on his axis and he was floating, his head spinning because he couldn’t find his sense of direction with gravity completely failing him. His senses were filled with the salty of the tears still lingering on Lance’s cheeks and mouth, mixed with the sweetest flavor he had ever tasted and by a scent that made him feel like he was drowning. His eyes stung with unshed tears because he had never proved an emotion that strong. His heart was swelling, his entire body reacting to Lance’s pressed close to him. He couldn’t form any coherent thought, until a voice at the back of his head painfully brought him back to reality. ‘This is wrong. He is in no condition to properly think this through. He is vulnerable right now and you shouldn’t take advantage of him like this.’

 

It was a splash of cold water, the voice was right. He snapped his eyes open and forced himself to put his hands between them to gently push Lance away from him. “Lance, I… I’d better go.”

 

Lance looked at him with wide, glassy, desperate eyes. “No, please, I won’t do it again but don’t leave me.”

 

Keith couldn’t bear to see it but he didn’t have the heart to leave him like that, either. “I’ll stay tonight, if you want but then I’ll have to leave.”

 

“Okay… Thank you.”

 

To change the topic to something safer, he added:

 

“If you feel a little better, your mother hold some dinner for us.”

 

As if on cue, Lance’s stomach grumbled, forcing him to nod and gesture to the kitchen with a sad chuckle. They ate in silence and, even after dinner, they couldn’t find any word to speak to one another so they walked silently back to their respective rooms, even if sleeping was the last thing in both of their minds.

 

“Good night, Lance. If you need anything call me, okay?” Keith offered, his hand already over the handle of his door but his gaze fixed on Lance to make him understand that he meant it.

 

Lance nodded, muttering another “Thank you” before closing his own door behind him.

 

Laying on their separate beds, they stared at the ceilings, Keith still not feeling his center of gravity back in its place and Lance unable to take a grasp of his own thoughts. On top of everything, the thing that most nagged at him was the absurd and unfathomable reason why Keith’s smell on his clothes felt so incredibly familiar. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want, come find me on [Tumblr](https://onpointedfeetandbrokendreams.tumblr.com/) ! I write one-shots and recommend Klance fics (and YOI). I've almost finished writing this since I used it as a break from my other fics and I started it some time ago so I'll update soon! They are going to be fine, I promise! Thank you for reading!


	3. Lance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They face the consequences of Lance's breakdown, while Keith prepares to leave.

_ I’ve always respected Keith, even before Voltron. I probably also admired him. The problem was that, most times, I was jealous of him. He is smart, clever, sure, quick, strong. Handsome. But I am one hundred percent sure that I have never had feelings for him, nor did he. We didn’t have time for that, we couldn’t even stop and think about what was happening, let alone developing feelings for someone else. I know that he cared for me, and I for him, like we did for the others, we were a team. That was all. He never even knew the full extent of my homesickness and my anxiety before. When he decided to come check on me he surely didn’t expect to find this mess. Though, since he came into my house a few days ago, no matter what we did, I’ve been feeling like myself again for the first time. I don’t know what it means and I know that I have definitively crossed some lines with my impulsive behavior but, from the moment in which he entered my door, he made me feel safe, understood, important. Like I could finally breathe without pain. I couldn’t help it. I did what I always do. I clung to it desperately. And for that, I’m going to lose him. _

 

*

 

The following day, Lance met Keith in his living room. He was sitting on the couch, absentmindedly sipping at a cup of coffee. Lance cleared his throat to announce his presence and greeted him tentatively. “Good morning.”

 

He turned around with a concerned frown on his face and replied: 

 

“Good morning Lance, how are you?”

 

“I’m fine, thank you.”

 

“Really? Because it didn’t seem so, yesterday.” His tone was firm and the words heavy. Chewing on the inside of his cheek, like he was still debating over what he wanted to say, he added: “If you are feeling bad, you don’t have to face it on your own. Don’t you think that you’d better see a therapist or something?”

 

Lance all but yelled, frustration having the best on him:

 

“Even if I did, what could I possibly say to them? ‘I fought aliens in an intergalactic war and now I’m suffering from PTSD because I got back on Earth’?”

 

Keith sighed. He had had those same doubts himself and he was lost because he wanted to do something but he really didn’t know what. He got up from the couch, defeated, and turned to face Lance with eyes sad and full of the helplessness he was feeling. “I’m sorry, I’m not the right person for you right now. I’m calling Shiro.”

 

“Keith, I… If it’s about what happened…”

 

He interrupted immediately with a gesture of his hand. “That’s not the reason, Lance. I know that it meant nothing, you were upset, you didn’t do it because it was  _ me  _ but because I was _there_. It’s okay, I don’t blame you. Let’s… Forget about it.”

 

“What? I…” Lance babbled, he had anticipated a number of different possible reactions but the one he was having was not among them. 

 

Keith’s expression softened as his lips quirked into a half smile. “It’s okay, really, I get it. It’s only human.”

 

Lance gaped, not believing what he was implying. He stared for a moment, then asked in a breath: “You think that I would have done that with anyone else in your place?”

 

“I mean… I don’t know about  _ anyone  _ but… It was the moment, you were scared, I hugged you...”

 

“I don’t go around and kiss random people just because I feel bad! Is that the consideration you have of me? Maybe you should really leave.”

 

Keith blushed considerably at the word ‘kiss’ and looked the other way, biting his bottom lip. He had been thinking about that all night but he was still conflicted. When he finally replied, he did so in a hushed voice, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor. “It’s true that I probably should leave... But I don’t want to abandon you. I’ve known from the beginning that I wasn’t the right person to help you with this but I thought that maybe having someone here that can understand what you went through could be enough. Now I’m not sure anymore.”

 

Lance shook his head and he couldn’t decide if he’d rather start yelling at him or cry. His voice broke: “And you think Shiro would be better? No one ever understood what I felt, not even Pidge or Hunk. No one ever knew how much I missed home or how much I had to rely on a stupid dream not to fall apart every single day.”

 

“What do you mean? What dream?”

 

“It’s nothing… I... I’m just an idiot. And a weak. Don’t worry about me, just leave. That’s what you are best at, anyway.”

 

It was a punch right into Keith’s stomach. “You really think that?”

 

Lance stopped his ramble immediately, feeling the pain behind Keith’s words. He froze and took his stance in, he was hunched on himself, guilt written all over his features. He made to reach out to him with his hand and immediately withdrew it on a second thought. He passed his fingers through his hair, hitching a sob. “Of course not. I know why you went with the Blade, it’s not the same… It’s… I’m sorry. Can we… Go out and have a walk to clear our heads? Maybe have some breakfast?”

 

Keith just nodded and made to follow him outside.

 

*

 

_ It must have been difficult for him, too, to be far away from his Planet, to be fighting in the War. Even more, it must have been difficult when he discovered that he was part alien. The very same aliens we were battling against. A part of his life that he could never have possibly imagined. I can’t even begin to understand what he felt or how he is dealing with everything now, like I know that he will never be able to understand me. How much it pained me to be apart from my house and my family. How much I missed just hearing people talking in Spanish around me or the feeling of the sand under my feet, the sight of the Ocean, the smell of home, the loving smiles of my parents and siblings... We were amazing partners in battle, compensating each other’s weaknesses and anticipating our moves, but outside and especially here back on Earth, we are too different. There are too many things that divide us. _

 

_ * _

 

Walking out in the open air, Keith was feeling less claustrophobic but his head still ached from how much he had been struggling to think about what he could do to help his friend. He was torn between the concern for Lance’s well-being and the thunderstorm of emotions that  _ he _ had been feeling as a result of Lance’s desperate actions in the past two days. He wanted to put as much space between them as he could to recover and maybe forget the way Lance had asked him to stay the night, the way he had  _ hugged  _ him, but he also didn’t want to leave him for selfish reasons. Lance’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “I haven’t answered before… You said that you wanted to forget that yesterday happened. It’s okay for me. Let’s forget about it all.” His tone was almost pleading, making Keith wish that it could be that simple. 

 

“I didn’t mean it like that. We can forget about the…  _ Hug  _ part… But you can’t keep ignoring the fact that you are suffering. You cried for hours and you couldn’t breathe, Lance, that was a severe anxiety attack. You have to acknowledge it and deal with them.”

 

Suddenly, Lance smirked, his expression the complete opposite of the one he wore not two seconds before. He leaned over, his nose hovering over Keith’s. “You can’t say it, can you?”

 

Keith jumped back and scowled. “What? No, I can say it perfectly! I’m trying to be serious and focus on the more important matters!”

 

“Too bad”, Lance said, crossing his arms and looking defiantly at him, “I won’t comment on anything until you admit it.”

 

“What do I have to admit?”

 

“That I  _ kissed  _ you, and you  _ kissed  _ me back.”

 

Keith shivered making Lance double over with laughter. He muttered:

 

“I hate you.”

 

“Didn’t seem so,” Lance sing-sang. “You have no choice if you want to talk about my…  _ Issues _ .”

 

It was Keith’s turn to smirk now. An idea suddenly hitting him. “Fine, I’ll say it but you have to admit that you had an anxiety attack.”

 

Lance froze, seeing that his challenge had been turned against him. He took a deep breath and he spoke slowly:

 

“Fine. I had an anxiety attack. Happy now?”

 

He didn’t think that actually admitting it would make him feel better but it did. He felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Again, the usual twist in his gut untied and it was again thanks to Keith. He smiled sincerely when the other nodded at him, content, before proceeding to keep his end of the deal: “You kissed me and I kissed you back.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Anytime,” replied Keith softly as they resumed walking towards the shore, lost in their thoughts.

 

“Keith...”

 

“Hm?”

 

“... Do you think we could… You know...” Lance trailed off, his heart was hammering in his throat and he regretted opening his mouth to speak. He scratched nervously the back of his neck that was flushing a deep crimson, desperate for something to say other than what was currently on his mind and finding none.

 

Keith, oblivious to his inner turmoil this time, pressed on. “What?”

 

“Nevermind... Sooooo, you are going to leave?” His voice grew an octave in pitch.

 

Keith raised a brow but decided to let it go. ”I think it’s better if I do, but I won’t leave until I’m sure that you will be okay.”

 

Lance wanted to cry in relief but he refrained himself. “If I do try and see a therapist, do you really think that I could talk to them about what happened?”

 

“Maybe we can try? I can help you make them understand if you want.”

 

“I would appreciate it, thank you.”

 

“Okay, let’s swim for a while, it always calms your nerves, right? Then we can do some research. Maybe the Garrison has associated therapists, that would make things a lot easier.”

 

A fond smile crept upon Lance’s lips. He hadn’t expected Keith to remember that, or to have noticed it in the first place.

 

*

 

_ Too many times in the Castle of Lions I have cried alone. I didn’t want to bother the others so I made jokes and ran away whenever they caught me off guard, waiting until I was alone to let it go. Now I realize that maybe I should have opened up more with them. If I had let them know about my insecurities and my troubles from the start, maybe I wouldn’t have felt so alone and I wouldn’t be struggling so much in facing them now. The only time I tried to voice some of my concerns had been with Keith, when Shiro came back the first time. Allura had been piloting my Lion and she was very good at it so I thought that I wasn’t needed in the team, that I was only a seventh wheel. I was scared but, unlike with everyone else, with him at least I had a hope to be taken seriously. That’s why I chose to talk to him and I was right in the end, he was surprisingly helpful and it made me feel a little better about the situation. I don’t know if that could have been a further step in our friendship because then he left to join the Blade of Marmora and we didn’t have a chance to see it. When he returned, much time had passed, a lot of things had changed and we never spoke about it again. _

 

*

 

Lance ran out of the water and dried his hair with one of the towels that they had taken from the house. He was smiling openly for the first time since his outburst the night before and Keith’s heart warmed at the sight. It was a thing that had been happening frequently in the past few days, he noticed. Unfortunately, they had more serious things to do. “Are you ready?” He asked, with a tenderness he wasn’t aware that he was capable of.

 

Lance nodded, wistful but determined. Without thinking too much about what he was doing, Keith offered his hand. Lance stared at it for a solid minute before smiling a grateful smile and taking it.

 

They walked back and settled on Lance’s couch. Keith pulled up his phone to dial Iverson’s number, since the man was one of the few people who knew about their  _ misadventures  _ in Space. As he was about to answer, Lance put his free hand on the receiver and shook his head. “I want to do this myself.”

 

Keith squeezed Lance’s other hand where it was still clasped with his own and passed him the phone.

 

“Hello?” The voice called from the speaker.

 

“Hello, sir. This is Lance?”

 

“Hi, Lance! What can I do for you?”

 

Seeing him stiffen, Keith began to trace patterns on his palm, similar to the ones he drew on his back the night before as Lance was crying. It gave him the distraction he needed to pull through the conversation. He swallowed the lump in his throat and explained:

 

“I’m having some anxiety issues. I wanted to try and see a therapist but I can’t really talk about one of the main reasons why I have them with an ordinary person, so I was wondering if there is someone within the Garrison with which I could talk...”

 

Iverson hummed in consideration. “I’m sorry to hear about that but it’s understandable, considering what you went through. I know someone that might be suitable. I’ll text you her number.”

 

“Oh, great! Okay, thank you! I appreciate it.”

 

“It’s no problem. Good luck, boy. In case you need anything else, we are always here for you Paladins.”

 

He said goodbye and hung up, then turned to Keith: “He said that he knows someone that could help me.”

 

“That’s wonderful, we won’t have any problem, then,” replied Keith. 

 

They were interrupted by Lance’s mother entering the room. “ _Mijo_ … Is everything okay? Can we do something to help you?” She glanced briefly at Keith and at their intertwined hands but her focus returned immediately to her son’s eyes. He inhaled deeply. “I’m sorry if I worried you… I had an anxiety attack yesterday.”

 

“Yeah, I know… I saw you...”

 

Lance ignored what that ‘I saw you’ could mean to avoid freaking out and continued: 

 

“It wasn’t the first time. Since I got back I have always pushed back my emotions because I felt like I couldn’t talk to anyone about them. Being with Keith these days, who was there and knows… It made me unable to hold back any longer.”

 

“I see. I’m glad that you managed to let it out. The first step towards healing is to recognize that you have a problem.”

 

Her smile was soothing and Lance offered a mirroring one. He really didn’t want to burden his family but they would only worry more if he didn’t talk to them. “I am going to see a therapist from the Galaxy Garrison. She may be able to help me figure out how to deal with this.”

 

His mother nodded, then her gaze moved to Keith, who was squirming on his spot, feeling like he was intruding a moment that wasn’t meant for him to witness. She shook her head. “Thank you, for taking care of my Lance.”

 

He blushed from head to toe. “I-It was no problem.”

 

When she left, Lance chuckled. “You should see your face right now. It’s hilarious. Who would have thought that the mighty Keith would be scared of my mother.”

 

“I’m not scared of her.”

 

“Yes, you are!” He retorted, letting go of his hand to pinch on his side. Keith shrieked. There was a moment of stillness, then Lance realized what had just happened and an evil grin plastered on his face: “Oh oh, you are ticklish!”

 

“N-Noo,” Keith tried to retort but he was putting as much space between them as he could, preparing his hands to defend himself for dear life and thus making his lie evident.

 

Lance began to wiggle his fingers in front of him. When slowly but inevitably they reached the designated victim, Keith screamed and laughed so hard that tears were pouring out of his eyes as he begged: “Stop! Please! I yield! I yield!”

 

Both of them froze when they found their eyes locked and far too little space between their faces. They snapped their heads to the other side to catch their breath. Panicking, Keith hurried to bounce back to their previous conversation in the hope to break the awkward moment.

 

“I’m not scared of her, I was only afraid that she thought it was me who made you cry,” he said.

 

Lance released a breath and he smiled affectionately. “I’m sure she understood.”

 

“Yeah, I am, too now... She seems very kind.”

 

“Yes, she is.”

 

“Would you like to call the number Iverson sent, now?”

 

A shiver ran down his spine but he nodded. “Okay.”

 

The call went on rather easily. The therapist was a woman called Janice, who had a very peaceful voice and gave encouraging words as Lance briefly recalled what happened to him and how he was feeling. In the end, she suggested that they should meet in person the following week, to which he agreed before thanking her and closing the communication. It was a first step but knowing that he took it made Lance’s confidence improve considerably. Before he could change his mind, he decided to seize it:

 

“How about we go out on a date tonight to celebrate?”

 

Keith was surprised by the use of the word  _ date _ but he decided to shrug it off. It was probably just a way of saying. “Sure. Since you have already had your first official meeting with her on the phone and you have an appointment for next time, you won’t need me to be here anymore. We can go out and celebrate tonight and then tomorrow I’ll leave. I’ve already been here three days and I wouldn’t want to abuse your hospitality.”

 

“I… Okay… But it’s me who asked you to stay, so don’t worry about that.”

 

They didn’t meet each other’s eyes after, both suddenly very interested in the tiles of the floor.

 

Lance tapped his foot nervously. When he couldn’t take the silence any longer, he blurted out. “I’m going to get ready. See you later.” And ran to his room.

 

Keith blinked and replied a perplexed “Okay?” before following suit and going to reorganize his things. As he folded the clothes that Lance borrowed him to give them back, it occurred to him that he had nothing to wear for a night out. He wondered if he should ask Lance about it but he reconsidered and decided to go shopping by himself, not wanting to impose. If Lance said that he wanted to start getting ready so soon, it could only mean that he was about to go over his complete skin-care routine and it would take at least an hour or two. He took his wallet and car keys and walked out of the house.

 

*

 

_ I keep asking myself if what he told me was partially true. That I kissed him just because I was upset and I was grateful to him for being there and I had a completely momentary lapse in judgment. If there had been someone else in his place, what would have happened? Would I have acted the same? Would I have felt that attached to any other of the Paladins by spending time together for two days like I did with him? He knows what I have been through in Space and he can relate to my post-trauma experience but that’s true for Hunk or Pidge or Shiro, too. It’s probably true even for Coran and Allura. In theory, there’s no reason why it should be different with him than with any of them. But none of them would have gotten worried just by seeing me miss a couple of meetings, they would have waited for more and my anxiety would have gotten worse in the meantime. And, even if or when they did, would I have felt as good with them as I have been with Keith? Would I have felt the need to stay with Pidge or Hunk or Shiro so much that I would panic at the mere thought of separating from them to go to sleep and embarrassingly asked to stay with me? Would I have had that weird moment with them, too? I’m not the kind of person who goes around and kisses random people without meaning, despite the appearances. I can’t explain why it happened. Maybe it was because of the hug. I can’t even begin to express what I felt in that moment. Despite us not being that friendly towards each other and him being one of the least affectionate people I know, when I was in pain and I needed comfort and I asked him, he said nothing and just did it. He didn’t protest, he didn’t ask why, he said ‘come here’ and opened his arms. It may have made me overstep but I can’t bring myself to regret it. For a brief moment, after he acknowledged that he kissed me back, I have almost wanted to ask him if he thought that we could do it again. Luckily, I stopped before it was too late. _

 

*

 

Lance put on the first one of his face masks and set the timer on his phone before collapsing onto his bed. A light knock on his door had him back on his toes immediately. “Come in.”

 

His mother entered the room and stood in front of him with her arms crossed and her brows furrowed as she scolded:

 

“I met your friend on his way out. I hope he didn’t think that he could leave without saying anything to us!”

 

“What? He left? He said nothing to me, either!”

 

“What did you do? Did you have a fight?”

 

Lance didn’t have an answer to that. He huffed. “No, we didn’t have a fight… I mean, we fight all the time but it has no meaning, it’s just how we have always been, it’s... Complicated?”

 

“You’d better call him, though. Don’t let him run away like this without saying goodbye! I even prepared a cake for him!”

 

Lance nodded and brought up his phone. They both relaxed when he dialed the number and they heard it ringing from the other room.

 

“At least we can be sure that he’ll come back since he forgot his phone. Let’s hope he doesn’t get lost.”

 

“Hm… By the way, thank you, _mama_ , for letting him stay.”

 

“It was not a problem at all. If he makes you happy, he can stay as long as he wants,” she replied. Then, with a knowing smile, she added: ”You two seemed very close, is there something you want to tell me?”

 

“There’s nothing else to say besides what I already told you before.”

 

She hummed, not very convinced and Lance, not for the first time that day, opened his mouth to speak but found himself unable to voice his thoughts out loud. “I…” He started.

 

“What is it, tell me.” 

 

“I know that he has to go. I don’t want him to feel forced to stay because he is worried about me and now that I understand a little better what was wrong with me and that I talked to that therapist I’m not terrified about the idea like I was yesterday. I didn’t even panic now when you told me that you saw him leaving...”

 

“But?” She pushed, sensing that there was something more that he needed to say. Lance sighed. “ _But_ even if I don’t  _ need  _ to stay with him to avoid my problems because I’m trying to face them, I still don’t want him to leave. Am I a bad person?”

 

“Of course not, _mijo_! Maybe your feelings for him are just changing. He is a good person, caring, and quite good-looking, too, it’s understandable,” she finished with a wink.

 

“Noooo, nope, nope, I can’t have this conversation with you, mum!” He flushed and the change in color was evident despite the white lotion that was currently covering most of his face. 

 

She chuckled. “You don’t have to tell me anything that you don’t want to but think about it. Maybe there’s something else that you need to understand other than how to deal with the repercussions of your traumatic experiences.”

 

There was a moment of silence, then Lance spoke again but his voice was barely audible. “Even if… He would think that it is only because I was sad and confused… So I could never tell him.”

 

“Is it true?”

 

“Of course not! I mean… I don’t think that I would have felt this way with any of the others like he said... But they wouldn’t have come check on me, either. I... I don’t even know why  _ he _ did.”

 

“For what I could see, he cares about you a lot. Maybe you should talk to him? Even if you don’t want to ask him to stay because you are afraid that he would feel forced to do it, you two can still keep in touch and organize to meet again whenever you want.”

 

“We don’t really do that… Unless it’s the others to organize or there are problems… I suppose I would see him at Shiro’s meetings.”

 

She caressed his head affectionately as she replied softly. “Just because you used to be that way, there’s no reason why it can’t be different now. People change all the time and feelings even more. Maybe three days ago it was true that he was nothing more to you than any of the others but now it’s not. You will regret it if you let him leave without talking this trough.”

 

Lance’s phone beeped, signaling the time to remove his face mask. He got up, leaving his mother’s embrace and moved to the bathroom to wash it away. As he splashed the warm water to his face, he looked himself up in the mirror and took a minute to think back to the conversation he had just had and to the days he had spent with Keith, trying to figure out what he wanted to do.

 

*

 

_ Of the three years I’ve been in Space, I remember everything, and yet nothing. I remember the loneliness, the fear. Taking refuge in my dreams about home and the familiar shore beside it. Not feeling understood, feeling a seventh wheel.  _

 

_ If I really think about it, I also remember how every time I had troubles with something, Keith had been there to give me strength in one way or another. He gave me advice, he fought with me or against me, he helped with the training. For some reason, he was the only one who always took my concerns seriously, despite not knowing what was there behind them. He was the one that most took me seriously in general, actually. It shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise, then, that it has been him to be by my side even in dealing with this new problem. Our lives were so frantic while we were fighting against the Galras that I never realized how much he did for me. Had I noticed it sooner, would that have changed something between us? Would I have been able to ask him openly for help? Now that I can see things in perspective, I can finally be grateful to him as he deserves and I understand better the reason why he came here. But other than that, can things really change between us? Aren’t we still too different to be able to understand each other? _

 

*

 

It was getting late and Keith hadn’t come back yet. After dwelling on his feelings for way too much time, Lance had decided to give up his second face mask in favor of playing with his siblings in the garden. He had realized that he hadn’t been fair to them since he got back and he wanted to make amend for it. They spent the rest of the afternoon running around the house, chasing each other and laughing. He was glad that he could have fun with them like that and they could see that he was happier and more carefree, even if they didn’t understand exactly what had been going on with him before.

 

When Keith finally returned, he was greeted by the sight of a smiling Lance, surrendered on the ground with a kid on top of his belly. He was transfixed by the scene and, at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel again like he was intruding a moment that wasn’t meant for him. He was about to turn around and go back to where he came from but he had to change his mind when Lance spotted him and gave him the brightest grin he had ever seen as he waved, shifting to free himself from his brother’s grip.

 

“Lance, Lance! Can your friend come play with us, too?” Lance’s brother asked, jumping up and down in excitement beside him.

 

“Maybe another time, we have to go help  _ mama  _ with dinner now,” Lance replied, getting up and dusting himself off. His gaze never left Keith’s. “I thought that you had fled.”

 

Keith shook his head. “I needed some time alone, I’m sorry… I haven’t stopped being the lone wolf, you know?”

 

Lance chuckled. “I do. Let’s go. Is it okay for you do have dinner here before going out? My mom made you a cake.”

 

“No, it’s perfect, I was hoping to have the chance to thank them properly.”

 

They moved inside the house, not without some pouting on the children’s part and as Lance and his siblings went to the kitchen to meet their mother, Keith retired to his temporary room to finish getting ready for the night. He joined the rest of them twenty minutes later and Lance was surprised to see that he had a completely new set of clothes on. He wore a dark red button-up shirt over tight black jeans and boots and his scent was different, too, spicier. He wondered if it was some kind of cologne. He couldn’t remember if he had ever used it. At a loss for words of his own, his mother’s echoed in his mind “He is quite good-looking, too”.

 

Keith’s voice snapped him out of his reverie. “So, where are we going later?”

 

He tried to recover some of his charm before announcing: 

 

“Since it’s your last night here, I’m going to show you a fundamental part that you can’t miss in your Cuban Experience.”

 

Keith raised a brow, but his expression was amused more than anything. “Okay. I bought some flowers and a bottle of wine for your family, for the hospitality… I hope they’ll like it.”

 

“I already told you that they didn’t mind. You were here because of me, there was no need for any gift!”

 

Keith shrugged, giving Lance the small package that he was carrying. “I wanted to.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

After dinner, every member of Lance’s family took turns to hug him, thanking him for helping Lance and for the gifts and saying that he could come back whenever he wanted. He was a little overwhelmed by the affection but he did his best to reciprocate. He could hear Lance giggling at his struggles from behind his back and he made a mental note to make him pay for it sooner than later. Then, they exited the house with a final wave. It had been just three days but Keith had felt completely accepted in Lance’s family and he was already feeling nostalgic at the idea that the following morning he would leave it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wanted to add the "date" to this chapter, too, but it was getting way too long and it would have kind of broken the rhythm, so... I'm sorry? I will update it soon!  
> Thank you for reading!


	4. Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fluffy happy ending we were all waiting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! If you checked my Tumblr you'll already know but... I meant to update my other fic first but I found myself in a deeply emotional state of mind with this chapter and I couldn't stop writing it. I hope you'll like it!

_ When I left Lance’s house after we called his new therapist, I planned to only stay out for an hour or so to buy some clothes and some gifts for his parents to thank them for hosting me. Finding myself actually alone for the first time in three days, I realized that I needed it. I parked the car and walked for a very long time to clear my head before anything else. I have barely slept the night before while trying to decide what to do and the morning hasn’t been easy. Lance has clearly been using my presence as a distraction to not think about his problems and that had to change, I couldn’t let him do that. I have probably been harsh on him but I’m glad that I did, considering that, in the end, he decided to acknowledge his issues and do something about them. The problem is where does this leave us now. I’m going to leave and we are going to go back to how we were before. No more swim races in the Ocean, no more cooking crépes together, no more video-game battles late at night. I know that I should be happy that Lance is feeling better and that he doesn’t need me to be here any longer but I know that I’m going to miss this. I’m going to miss him. How did we come to this? When did this happen? I did start to consider him as one of my friends and to enjoy being with him a long time ago, when we were still in the Castle of Lions and probably even before he did the same to me but when we separated to return to our lives on Earth I hadn’t felt this… Emptiness, at the thought of being apart from him for who knows how long. _

 

*

 

“Welcome to The Bahia!” Said Lance, extending his arms towards the archway with those same words printed in sparkling golden letters. Beyond, was a beach, with a bar stool in a corner, various tables and strobe lights all around the place and way too many people for Keith to be comfortable with.

 

“Lance… Tell me that this isn’t some sort of nightclub, please?” He was aiming for an unimpressed tone, but the pleading lilt to his voice was noticeable.

 

“A fundamental part that you can’t miss in your Cuban Experience, remember?” Lance replied, grinning. Keith thought that he wanted to die and, in a second, he regretted every single positive thought he had ever had about Lance. He dragged his feet behind him while the other was already moving in time with the loud Latin music that was filling the air. “I expect you to at least buy me a drink for this,” he mumbled, frowning. 

 

“Of course, my little grumpy friend. But don’t worry, by the end of the night, you will change your mind! Get ready to be razzle-dazzled!”

 

Keith grunted, not very convinced, as they approached the bar and Lance asked something in Spanish, probably some drinks.

 

“Here you go,” Lance said, offering the glass with a dramatic gesture.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Mojito! You may think that you have already tasted it ten thousand times but… I assure you that you haven’t had a real Mojito if you haven’t had one made in Cuba.”

 

Keith took a sip from the straw and his eyes widened. “This is really good.”

 

“Told you so, now finish it so that we can go dancing!”

 

“Definitely no. I don’t dance. You can convince me to listen to this… Music and have a drink here, maybe sit on those benches over there in the sand but you will NEVER convince me to dance. No way. No.”

 

Lance took a big gulp of his mojito and put the glass on the stool before turning with the look of a man on a mission and a sneaky lopsided smile. He started to sway his hips with the music, eyes darkened fixed on Keith as he approached him. The poor guy tried to hide behind the straw of his own drink with little success. His face flushed and he felt panic pooling up in his stomach mixed with a weird sense of anticipation. He kept asking himself what he had done wrong to deserve it while taking some tentative steps back just to find himself cornered. When Lance reached out and put his hands on his sides to lead him to the dance floor, he couldn’t focus on anything else except the warmth and softness of Lance’s palms through the light fabric of his new shirt. His heart skipped a beat. He knew that it was the atmosphere, the lights, the music and the fact that Lance really did know how to move but he felt helplessly drawn into his orbit. He hoped that his face wasn’t as red as it felt. 

 

When they entered the dance floor, Lance’s moves grew bigger and more sensual and he started to sing along with the Spanish song that was playing.  _ “Te metiste en mi cuerpo y ni yo mismo me explico como eres. Todo para mi se que el tiempo ocupara tu lugar pero mientras dime como hago para no pensar que yo...” _

 

Keith’s breath caught in his throat. He couldn’t understand the meaning but he could see an honesty behind Lance’s gaze on him that he wasn’t expecting. He was about to speak and ask about it when the following words came out of Lance’s mouth and those he understood:

 

_ “Te necesito aqui.”  _

 

The meaning was ‘ _ I need you here _ ’. He was sure of it because one day he had caught Lance whispering them to a picture of his family and he had asked about it. He would always remember the pain with which Lance had spoken them that time. The song continued after but he couldn’t hear it anymore. Lance singing those words to him was more than he could bear. He turned around, meaning to run away but Lance took his hand to keep him there just as the song reached its chorus again and he sang it, hushed, to his ear.  _ “Te necesito aqui a mi la baby por siempre junto a mi.” _

 

“Lance, please let me go...” He murmured. They were so close that there was no need to speak louder than that and he didn’t trust his voice in that moment. 

 

Lance took another step towards him, without leaving his hand and Keith could almost feel the ghost of his chest on his back. He wondered what would it be if he just leaned a little. Then Lance spoke again, his breath on Keith’s neck made a shiver run down his spine. “I will leave you instantly if you don’t want me here. But only if you give me a valid reason that’s different from ‘you are doing this just because you were upset and I was there’.”

 

“Lance...” He tried to sound reproachful or angry or anything else but his words came out in a sigh in his state. He put some distance between them nonetheless.

 

“I’m not asking you anything, just… Dance with me? For a bit...”

 

Keith knew that he wouldn’t have been able to say no to that even if he wanted to. He let Lance lead him into the dance, the steps were simple enough for him to follow but the way he performed them was nowhere near as elegant and smooth as what Lance was doing, making them look completely different. While Lance rolled and moved like his body was fluid, Keith was stiff and rigid on his side, able to keep up with the dance just because of Lance’s hands on his hips. They went on like that for another song or two or twenty, Keith couldn’t tell. The rhythm was the same and he couldn’t think properly with all his senses filled with Lance, Lance’s scent, the grace with which he danced, his touch as he guided him. He felt drunk and he knew that it wasn’t the half mojito he had downed.

 

Lance could probably see that he was getting overwhelmed because he decided to choose that moment to took a step away from him, shift his grip on him from his side to his hand and spin him. Their eyes crossed for a split second and the defiant expression Keith saw there was enough to clear his mind completely. He could recognize a challenge when he saw it and he wasn’t one to accept defeat without a fight. He tightened his hold on Lance’s hand and took charge, spinning him in turn and putting his other hand on Lance’s hip to point out his newly obtained leading role. Lance chuckled and, instead of fighting back to retake his position, he turned his back at him, adjusted on the grip pressing his entire body to Keith’s and doing a painfully slow roll. Keith pushed him away unceremoniously, scoffing to hide his blush. “Stop it!”

 

The Cuban was clearly enjoying his friend’s discomfort too much because he just smiled teasingly and asked with fake innocence. “Stop what? I’m just dancing, see?”

 

“You know what,” Keith pouted.

 

Finally, Lance decided to have mercy on him. “Would you like to take a break?”

 

Keith didn’t have to be asked twice. He hurried to one of the free benches away from the music and the dancing people like his life depended on it, not caring that Lance was laughing so hard that he tripped on his own two feet as he followed.

 

“To make amends,” Lance said when he recovered and managed to approach him, “I’m going to get you another drink. Your choice this time.”

 

“The same we had earlier is fine.”

 

He nodded and moved back to the bar, still moving in time with the music and unable to keep his hands still. Keith couldn’t contain a smile as he shook his head. He realized that if Lance liked this so much, he didn’t mind being there too.

 

*

 

_ Before we were thrown into Space, I was always by myself. Some said that I was presumptuous, arrogant, others called me a nerd or lame, or sulky. The truth was that I never had the chance to know anything else. I didn’t know what it was like to have someone to love, to cherish, and someone who cares for you back. I used to focus so much on my studies because it was the only thing that I understood, that I was good at and that could give my life a meaning. At least, until the Garrison betrayed me by lying about Shiro’s mission. Then, I had nothing again. With Voltron and with the Blades, I finally learned what it was like to have someone to call family and the emotions that I proved with them were so intense, they filled my heart and brightened my days so much more than every lesson I have learned ever did. Life was difficult, more than it was when I was alone and my only concern was what to do with my days, but even so, everything was so much better. I remember thinking that I couldn’t possibly feel anything deeper or stronger than that. I wonder if it is true. _

 

*

 

They spent some time just sitting there, teasing each other, talking about everything and nothing and drinking. Keith thought that he had never felt more at ease in his life. Words came naturally to them and, even when silence fell into the conversation, it was never awkward. Their cheeks hurt from how much they were smiling like two idiots. Then, the song changed and had them both startling.

 

“Keith! This is our song, we have to go dancing!” Snapped Lance, immediately raising to his feet.

 

Keith looked at him, blinking, unable to decide if he wanted to laugh at him or play along. He resorted to his usual sarcastic voice:

 

“Lance? For real? This is the Star Wars theme. With salsa?”

 

Lance grinned as he nodded and held his hand out in an offering. “We have to go dancing!”

 

“Why?”

 

“Come oon! It’s our song! We are going to miss it!”

 

Keith could feel the smile tugging at his lips even if he was trying with all his might not to let it show. “Fine.” He took Lance’s hand and let the overexcited Cuban lead him back to the dancefloor. It was, honestly, hilarious. They were dancing salsa. On Earth. To the Star Wars Theme. 

 

It was perfect.

 

They spun and moved wildly around the place, letting the music carry them and laughing all the while. Lance’s movements were less coordinated but it only made Keith more relaxed and bolder than before. They reached a corner and continued to dance with their feet sinking in the sand. When the music changed to a slower rhythm, probably signaling that the place was going to close soon, Lance shifted his hands to encircle Keith’s waist and press him close, rocking them back and forth to the different melody. Still high on the hilarity of the moment, Keith decided to throw all caution to the wind and melt into the embrace. He linked his hands behind Lance’s neck, letting two of his fingers absentmindedly carding throw the longer hair on his nape. No one had anything to say after, so they remained like that, slow-dancing to the fading music and the increasingly thinner crowd. Lance leaned his head over Keith’s contentedly at the gesture, closing his eyes and humming along.  _ “Tal vez debí ocultarlo por más tiempo en vez de desnudar de golpe todo en mi interior. Tal vez si hubiera sido más discreto tendría como recompensa el tiempo a mi favor pero a veces llega un sentimiento que es incontrolable y es imposible separar el sueño de la realidad...” _

 

Then, Lance started, voice low and hesitant: 

 

“Keith?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Thank you for staying here with me.”

 

“It was no problem at all. Thank you… For everything, I guess… For the Cuban Experience.”

 

They chuckled a little sadly.

 

“I suppose we’ll see each other at the next of the Paladin’s meeting?” Continued Keith. As Lance replied, he could feel the smirk on his face even if he couldn’t see it but it wasn’t very earnest. “I think so… Apparently, I cannot miss them.” 

 

They were still in the same position, even if the place had closed by then and they were the only ones left on the beach.

 

“... Keith?” He said again.

 

“Hm?”

 

“If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh at me?”

 

“I can try...”

 

“Fine, never mind.”

 

“I was just kidding, go ahead, I promise.”

 

Lance sighed and, unable to look at him in the eyes, he buried his face deeper into his hair and muffled the words that had been twiddling in the back of his mind for a while. “When we were in Space, I used to have a recurrent dream about Earth. It was so vivid and real in my head that it made me remind of all of the sensations of being here… It helped me deal with the homesickness and everything... Since we came back, I felt bad because despite being here, those fake emotions were still stronger than the new ones I was experiencing and I hated myself for it. I thought that I was being ungrateful to what I had...”

 

“Lance, you weren’t...” Keith tried to stop him but Lance stilled, putting a hand on his chest and finally taking a step backward to face him. “No, let me finish. What I wanted to say is… Having the chance to show you my favorite places, my house, what I love about the Ocean and the life here… It helped me reconnect with them and I… Thank you. I don’t know if I could have done it by myself or… With anyone else.”

 

“Can I talk now?” Keith asked and waited for a nod before saying: “I did nothing, you needed someone that could understand you and it could have been any of us.”

 

“But it wasn’t anyone else, was it? You were the only one who got worried about me. Why?”

 

“Because...” Keith trailed off, looking anywhere but at Lance. They had never spoken about it, it was a tacit rule between them and he didn’t want to be the one to break it.

 

“Tell me, please,” Lance said, with a voice so small it had Keith’s heart clench.

 

“Because it wasn’t the first time that I saw you like that,” he blurted out. “You know, you were acting exactly like you did back then when we started to live in the Castle. Your eyes were always unfocused, you were closing on yourself, pushing us away...”

 

“How did you know that?”

 

Keith felt suddenly self-conscious. “I… watched you? That’s the reason why… I mean… You know...”

 

“No, I don’t know. What are you talking about?”

 

“That time when… I... Took advantage of that mission in the same sector of our solar system to… Kidnap you and bring you to see your family? Okay, that sounded very bad… I… I’m sorry, we agreed not to speak about that and I don’t know how else to define it?”

 

He glanced at Lance and saw that his eyes were impossibly wide. “What is it?” He asked, taking his hands away from his shoulders defensively.

 

“We need to sit down and you need to explain to me exactly what you are meaning right now because I want to remember every single word you are going to say.”

 

Keith was more confused with every second but did as he was told. They sit down on the sand with their legs crossed, facing one another. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore the only thing that filled the air between them. Lance stood expectantly. “Please.”

 

“Fine, I...” Keith tried to gather his thoughts, to formulate a coherent explanation that didn’t involve the word ‘kidnapping’. “It was clear that you were feeling bad and no one was doing anything about it so… One time, we were on a mission relatively near Earth… Relatively meaning, within Lion’s distance? So I thought… You didn’t get mad at me back then so why would you do now?” He was starting to panic.

 

“I’m not mad, Keith, finish your story. Please,” Lance said softly and reached to take his hand, in an attempt to reassure him.

 

“I took you and your Lion and brought you to this shore. I knew where it was because you showed us the coordinates and… When you woke up you went out, walked for a while on the beach, and you looked so relaxed and happy that I didn’t want to interrupt you... So I stayed in the Lion as you bathed in the Ocean, then you went to see your family. I waited to see if you wanted to say something to them but you decided against it and… I flew your Lion to come get you and we returned to the Castle?”

 

Lance blinked, unable to form coherent words. “You… All this time… It was real?”

 

Keith didn’t have time to answer because he suddenly felt an extra weight crashing on top of him, making him collapse onto the sand. He was about to protest that he couldn’t breathe, that they were going to mess their hair and clothes, not to mention his car and probably some other complaints that died in his throat when he realized that Lance was laughing with happy tears in his eyes and he couldn’t find it in himself to ruin it for him. He just hugged him tightly and let his head fall back, not completely understanding what was happening.

 

*

 

_ I never thought that I could enjoy going to a nightclub on a beach, or dancing Cuban salsa and reggaeton, or roll over in the sand, dirtying my hair and my new clothes and scratching every inch of my skin. Lance says that I helped him reconnect with reality in these three days but really, he did the same for me. He made me see that I already had the answers to all the questions that I have been asking myself since we got back. Could I really return to my previous life after tasting what it felt like to be part of something bigger than myself? Could I go back to not have a family to rely upon? Could I handle not feeling so important and needed as I did in those years? No. Obviously no, I couldn’t. I can’t. I don’t want to. Not if being with someone else and making  _ him _ happy brings me so much more joy and purpose. _

 

*

 

“I still can’t believe it. I have always thought that it was in my mind. You were the red blur at the beginning of the dream and the foreign smell and… What can I do to repay you? I’ll buy you a house! I’ll… Tell me what you want, I’ll give it to you.”

 

Keith shrugged. “It’s fine, Lance, it’s been a long time ago and it was nothing. I did it for the others as much as I did it for you, we couldn’t afford to lose you.”

 

“Yeah, but, I didn’t think that you could understand me this much and… “

 

“Don’t worry about it.”

 

They shared a meaningful look and Lance smiled sincerely at him. “I will never thank you enough for this in a lifetime.”

 

“Should we head back now? It’s getting late,” Keith asked, not knowing what to say to that and beginning to feel embarrassed at the attention on him.

 

“Sure… Wait, I have a theory!” Lance yelped as they started to walk towards the car.

 

“What?”

 

“Pidge’s biscuits. They said that they weren’t Hunk’s and that they appeared when they collapsed in front of their screen for working too much… Now that I think about it, they stopped  _ coincidentally _ after you left!”

 

Keith blushed, clearing his throat. “Yeah… That was me, too…”

 

“Wow, you really did care about all of us! How could I have been so blind all this time! I thought that you didn’t get me!” Lance was clutching his chest with his hand, afraid that his heart might burst out if he didn’t contain it. He was seeing everything in a new light now. What happened in Space, what happened at the Paladins’ meetings, the friend in front of him. He wasn’t only the smart, strong and stubborn fighter he had always known. He was a selfless, compassionate person who deeply cared about the others around him without the need for them to acknowledge him or do something in return. He was someone who broke a billion rules just to gift Lance with one day with his family when he needed it the most without once rubbing it in, even when Lance was mean to him for whatever stupid reason. He was someone who woke up late at night to check on the youngest member of their group when they worked too much. He was… 

 

“Keith?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Would you like to do something?”

 

Keith looked at him. Whereas Lance had asked that question with desperation and panic in the past days, now there was only affection in his gaze. 

 

“What do you have in mind?”

 

Lance motioned for the Ocean in front of them. “One last swim race?”

 

“Okay,” Keith answered laughing. “But I’m going to win this time.”

 

“In your dreams.”

 

They started to run almost at the same time, discarding their clothes as they went and dived into the water. Swimming as fast as he could, Keith reached the buoy first. Not believing himself he screamed, declaring. “I really won!” Lance was not far back and he felt the fondness take over him. “Yes, you did,” he said softly, reaching Keith. He locked eyes with him to silently ask for permission before flinging an arm around his middle. They stared into each other’s eyes, catching their breath.

 

Keith shivered and took a deep breath, before calling: “Lance?”

 

“Hm...”

 

“Do you think we could…”

 

Lance laughed breathlessly. “We should stop stealing each other’s phrases like this.”

 

“No, we shouldn’t,” Keith replied, smiling dumbly. It was all the answer they needed. Lance took his face in his hands, lazily caressing his cheeks and closed the last few inches that kept them apart to press his lips to Keith’s. It was completely different from the first time. It wasn’t desperate, there weren’t tears or the fear of misunderstanding. It was not like drowning. It was honest and sweet. It felt like coming home.

 

*

 

_ I still don’t know what to do with my life, except for waiting for the Universe to need me again, of course. What I know for sure is that, whatever I’m going to do from now on, I’m not going to do it by myself. I’ve learned what it means to care for someone else while I was in Space and how much meaning it gives to your own life. I thought that that was the maximum amount of affection I was capable of, the deepest and strongest emotion I could ever feel towards another person. Today I’ve realized how I was completely wrong. _

 

*

 

When they managed to return to Lance’s house, it was already past five in the morning. They stumbled into Lance’s room and flopped down his bed in an attempt to sleep for a few hours, all the while trying to stifle their giggles without much success. Everything was new and tentative but it felt so natural that they almost couldn’t believe it had never happened before. They laid there, talking and talking and talking without once breaking the contact between them, holding hands, playing with each other’s hair, trailing fingers over skin, until they finally drifted off to sleep with their hands and legs intertwined, foreheads pressed to one another’s.

 

Not three hours later, the sun was already up in the sky and the light seeping through the window woke Keith. He made to rub his eyes but found that he couldn’t move any of his hands. He couldn’t suppress a chuckle, his heart swelling with happiness and fondness for the beautiful and fragile boy in his arms. “Ehy Lance,” he called.

 

The other grumbled, still half asleep. “I want to sleep, go away.”

 

Keith kissed the tips of his nose. “I would, if you give me my hands back.”

 

Blinking, Lance returned to consciousness and smirked. “No, they are mine now.” He opened his eyes completely and leaned over to return the kiss. “Would you like to stay a little bit more, now? I have a couple of days before my appointment with the therapist, we can use them as a vacation, then we’ll go back to reality and I’ll let you go home!” He asked when they broke apart.

 

“I think it’s better if you spend them with your family.”

 

Lance sighed. “Yeah… Probably… I don’t want you to leave, though.”

 

“Me neither but I’ll call you every day, okay?”

 

Lance buried his face in Keith’s neck. “Fine… Can I stay here a couple of hours before you go?”

 

“Okay,” chuckled Keith. “How are we going to tell the others?”

 

“Tell them what?” Asked Lance with fake innocence.

 

Keith pinched his side, earning himself a squeak. “You know what.”

 

“Say it...”

 

“I’m regretting it already.”

 

“No, you are not,” Lance’s tone was slightly menacing and his fingers tensed on Keith’s side, ready for a tickle attack.

 

“I’m not, I’m not!” He immediately replied.

 

“You’d better.”

 

“I’m not, I promise.”

 

They stayed there curled up on the small mattress in silence until Keith decided that it was time for him to leave. Lance pouted but let go of his grip. 

 

They took their time to get ready for his departure, tidying up his temporary room and packing the car, then as he was about to say goodbye, Lance stopped abruptly, eyes wide and grinning. “Keith!! I had the greatest idea!”

 

Keith turned, raising a questioning eyebrow. “About what?”

 

“I just figured why we couldn’t adapt as well as the others to live back on Earth.”

 

“If you are going to get all sappy I’m breaking up with you right now, I swear.”

 

Lance gaped, then bounced up and down in excitement, pointing a finger at him. “So you do admit it that we are together!”

 

“I… Thought it was… Aren’t we?”

 

“Of course! I mean… If you want?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Great!”

 

“Great...”

 

They stood there awkwardly, forgetting what they were talking about with the weight of what they had just admitted settling in. Keith scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and asked:

 

“What did you want to tell me?”

 

“Right. For the record, I wasn’t going to get sappy, it was all you. What I meant was that, before we left, we both wanted to be pilots and we accomplished our dream with the Lions and Voltron but… We still aren’t officially pilots here. To find our way, I think we should go back to where we started. We should finish the school.”

 

Keith’s expression rapidly shifted from baffled to thoughtful to awed and when he smiled at Lance, it was with resolve and determination. “This is really the greatest idea!”

 

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

 

“I mean… We had a very  _ intense _ night yesterday and we slept way too little, I didn’t expect you to actually come up with...”

 

Lance interrupted him with a chuckle. “I know, I know, easy.”

 

“Well, then it’s decided. It appears we are going to be rivals again,” Keith said, crossing his arms and pretending to glare at him.

 

“I can’t wait,” replied Lance, offering his hand for the other to shake. “Rival.”

 

Keith laughed and returned the handshake before using their linked hands to draw Lance closer to him and press a small kiss to his lips, whispering softly:

 

“Rival.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was my first proper Voltron fic so, thank you very much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Any comment is appreciated, if you want to come say 'Hi' or talk about Klance fics, I'm on Tumblr [ here](https://onpointedfeetandbrokendreams.tumblr.com/)!!  
> These are the songs I mentioned in this chapter:  
> The first one they dance is [Te necesito](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGtsl5KkZhw);  
> The Star Wars theme remixed is [Lo Que Tengo Yo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiWGNJHIrvk);  
> The slow song they dance in the end is [Tienes Que Entender](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m81Qe4Sg-Uw).  
> Thank you again!!  
> With love,  
> Nigg


	5. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some years later...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Well, as promised, here's the even more fluffy epilogue!  
> Thank you very much for the over 100 kudos and for your comments!! I really appreciate it! <3 <3

The air around the building is filled with excitement, the yard has been decorated with the colors of Voltron, even if no one has to know exactly the reason why. The buzz of many different conversations happening at the same time fades completely as the director of the Galaxy Garrison steps up on the podium and clears his throat.

“Good morning everybody and thank you for coming to this celebration. Today, I am particularly proud to announce the names of this year’s grad students and, especially, the name of our top class fighter pilot, who exceeded the second in the rankings by only one point. Please, let’s welcome him with an applause...” he freezes, looking at the name on the paper in front of him and turns with a questioning look to the people lined up on his side, waiting to be called to collect their certificate. One of them is giggling uncontrollably, Iverson glares at him.

“Lance, what did you do?” The boy next to him whispers, reproachful, poking him in the hip with his elbow.

“Who? Me? Nothing,” he replies with the fakest smile Earth has ever seen.

Iverson sighs before shrugging and deciding to go along with whatever the two of them plotted. “Keith… McClain?”

Lance’s grin grows wider and he ducks to avoid the smack on the side of his head that he would have surely received otherwise. “No one else needs to know which one of us won, babe,” he explains with a wink. Keith rolls his eyes. “How did you even do that?”

“ _ I _ didn’t do anything but I know a little hacking genius who might have messed up the names in the database of the Academy...”

Keith huffs out a laugh. “Why do you always have to be so dramatic?”

He wiggles his eyebrows, teasing:

“You know you love me like this.”

“Yeah, I do,” Keith replies easily, a fond smile on his face. The change in the tone of the conversation makes Lance blush furiously and both of them would have forgotten what they were arguing about if it wasn’t for Iverson, still watching them intently. Keith shrugs and offers him an apologetic look before returning to his boyfriend and asking:

“What’s the plan? Are you going to go up there or should I?”

“We are going together, of course,” Lance says. He takes his hand and Keith lets himself be dragged along, knowing perfectly well to be next to powerless when Lance puts his mind to something like that and looks at him with those sparkling blue eyes full of determination and excitement.

They reach the microphone set in the middle of the little stage and Lance waves to the audience. “Hi, it appears there has been a technical error with our names but considering that the  _ one point  _ difference was merely caused by chance, we can safely say that we deserved to be announced like this, am I right?” He shoots a finger gun with his free hand and he can spot Shiro and Allura shaking their heads. Beside them, Hunk is crying and Coran is beaming with pride, while Pidge, his accomplice, smirks at them. He feels so happy that if it wasn’t for the solid hand still grasping his own he wouldn’t believe that this is real.

“Though… It does have a nice ring to it, hasn’t it?  _ Keith McClain _ .” He leans in and whispers, making Keith shiver. “Shut up, Lance.”

They thank Iverson and the other professors gathered up there as they take their certificates from the Academy, take some pictures with the other graduated students and finally leave the stage to meet with their friends and family. Lance’s mother bounces to hug them both the moment they step down. “I am so proud of you two,  _ hijos mìos _ !”

“Thank you, _ mama _ !” Replies Lance, his voice broken from the emotion, while Keith echoes him with a sheepish thank, still unable to completely deal with the affection of Lance’s family despite having visited their house many times since the beginning of their relationship.

The other members of the McClain family pile up in the hug and congratulate the two of them in a mix of English and Spanish, before letting them meet with their friends. Allura and Coran hid their ears and marks to land on Earth without causing too many troubles and the Voltron team is completely reunited to cheer on them.

After a while, someone suggests to move to the restaurant and everyone agrees. As they go their separate ways to reach their vehicles, Lance finds himself alone with Keith for the first time since the morning. They take their time to walk to the car, appreciating the comfortable silence between them. Lance thought that he was used to be surrounded by people, coming from a huge family and all but nothing he has ever experienced compares to the number of hugs and congratulations he received that day. And if he is feeling suffocated, he can’t even begin to imagine what Keith is going through. 

“Do you think you can handle the party?” He asks with a smirk, hoping to lighten the mood.

Keith huffs. “I’ll do my best...”

He doesn’t sound very convinced, so Lance stops to take a better look at him and notices that he is completely serious, brows furrowed, lips pursed, slightly biting the inside of his cheek. When he starts talking again a thousand alarm bells begin to ring in Lance’s head. “Lance, I was thinking-”

“No, no, noooope, you weren’t. You were emotional for today, a little dazed from the hustle and bustle of our families and friends but you definitely weren’t thinking about something that makes you have that look.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!” Keith protests, his voice growing an octave in pitch and his lips turning into a pout.

“ _ Mi amor _ , I’ve known you for years, I can read every one of your expressions and this is definitely a train of thought I’m not letting you follow through right now.”

“What if it was something related to the party?”

Lance gives him a sarcastic look, raising one eyebrow. “Was it?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

“I figured. Come now, we are going to be late,” he picks up the pace again, with a carefree smile, like the conversation hasn’t happened at all.

“I hate you,” Keith mutters, following suit with his arms crossed.

“I know you don’t, love.”

He doesn’t reply and keeps frowning until they approach the car. Before getting in, Lance turns and takes both of Keith’s hands on his own, forcing him to unfold them by kissing every one of his knuckles. “I didn’t have a chance to ask you before but, will you forgive me for that little joke at the celebration?”

Keith smiles. “Of course I will. Like you said, I love you like this.”

“I love you too! And I’m proud of you, of us. We did great.”

“Yeah, we did,” he grins pulling Lance closer to him for a kiss. He trails his lips along Lance’s jaw to reach his ear and whisper with the deep voice that always makes a shiver run down Lance’s spine:

“But mark my words, I will finish what I was going to say before the end of the day.”

Lance sneaks an arm around his waist and uses the other to gently rotate his head so that their eyes meet again. “No, you won’t. You won’t one-up me to this,” he breathes, grinning widely before leaning in for another peck.

They distantly hear the noise of a car approaching and a familiar voice yelling: “Get a room!” But they don’t really care. Lance doesn’t need to see it to know that Keith is flipping Pidge off from behind his back. He chuckles and slips his fingers under the hem of Keith’s shirt to distract him from their friend. As expected, the gesture has the desired effect because Keith instantly forgets about them and deepens the kiss, biting Lance’s bottom lip and sliding his hands up his sides to bring them to his hair.

  


It isn’t really a surprise to anyone that they arrive more than an hour late to the party after.

  


The rest of the day goes by easily, they eat and talk and laugh with their friends and families, remembering their adventures as the oldest students of the Academy without a concern. They were together and in the process of fulfilling their dreams so the rest didn’t really matter. Even some of their old classmates join the table at one point in the evening to add some details to their tales or tease them but with affection, in their looks is clearly visible the admiration and respect they feel for their two best pilots.

When the party is over, they return to the small room they have been sharing in the Galaxy Garrison's complex, more than a little tipsy and still giddy from all the emotions of the day. They stumble through the door and close it behind them, securely shutting the rest of the World outside.

"Now, dear Keith, it is time for my present," Lance says, smiling against his lips, his fingers lightly pulling at his hair.

Keith grumbles, pushing him away with a frown. "Why can't you let me finish what I was trying to say earlier first?"

"Because I am more than one hundred percent sure that it would spoil my gift."

"It wouldn't! It was just..."

"Baby, please, let me do this."

"It doesn't have to be a competition, Lance."

"Sure does, Keith!"

Keith rolls his eyes but he has to relent. Again. He steps away from him to flop down on their couch and says:

"Fine. But you will have to make it up to me later."

Lance grins mischievously as a promise that he definitely will and leaves to go rummage through his closet, looking for something.

He hums to himself as he does so, pleased that he will be able to go through with his plan.

When he comes back, he is carrying three boxes.

“Wait, why there are three of them? I thought you talked about one gift.”

“Just open them.”

Keith glares suspiciously. The first present has a yellow package, decorated with palm trees and waves and there’s a vibrant green ribbon around it. Inside, he finds a pellet gun, a poster with the detailed model of a spaceship surrounded by galaxies and a video game. Lance covers his mouth with his hand to hide his blush as Keith examines the items, they both laugh when Keith opens the case containing the game and sees that it’s the newer version of the ponies-themed one they played all those years ago.

“What is this?” He asks.

“You’ll see. Open the next one.”

Keith nods and moves to the second packet. This one has a blue wrapping, with little dots in pink, white and purple and a darker blue bow on top. He opens it and sees a bottle of sunscreen “ultimate defense, suitable for your children”. He raises a brow, moving it aside to reveal a cookbook for dummies and a Blu-Ray collection of the complete original series of Star Trek.

“Lance!” He exclaims in awe, taking it in. “I thought that you were just mocking me but… This is… I have wanted to buy this for ages!”

“Maybe I am mocking you, maybe I am not...” Lance sing-songs. “Go on.” He jumps up and down on his spot and Keith shakes his head, warmth spreading through his entire body. He has always loved how easily Lance gets excited like a child and sometimes he still has troubles in believing that he can share his light from this close.

The final box is striped in different shades of red and the ribbon on it is purple. Keith is expecting another set of weird and mismatched items but, instead, there is only one disk inside, on its cover is written in Lance’s calligraphy “The best of the bests Latin songs to dance with the love of your life.”

“You know that I don’t dance, Lance,” Keith comments but his voice is not nearly as sarcastic or dry as he intended it to be.

“I beg to differ, sir. I perfectly recall at least one time when you danced with me.”

It is then that Keith’s mind clicks and all the pieces fall into their place. The gun, the Space-themed posters, the recipe book, Star Trek. He looks up in awe and when he talks, the voice comes out in a breath. “These are... From those three days I spent at your house before we decided to come here.”

Lance grins. “They are. Like I said that time, being able to share things with you is what made me able to appreciate them again. Those three days marked the beginning of the best thing that ever happened to me and I wanted to recall them today, hoping to mark the beginning of another. Keith, babe, love of my life, will you share everything with me from now on not only as my comrade, partner in crime, best friend, classmate, co-pilot and rival but also as my husband?”

His voice threatens to break at any time during his speech, but he somehow manages to keep his composure on the outside as he takes another box out of his pocket, this one smaller and colored simply in black and containing the simple and perfect silver ring he has spent years searching for, waiting for this moment. 

Keith feels like a wobbly mess, completely stunned into silence by Lance’s words and among all the different emotions he is feeling he settles on the most comfortable one. 

He laughs, clutching his middle, and keeps laughing until his eyes crinkle. Lance takes a step backward. “What do you think you are doing? I will start to cry in the next second if you don’t say ‘yes’. I may have won the battle against my PTSD but don’t forget that I still get anxious pretty easily and-” He is interrupted by Keith’s lips pressed against his own, his arms tighten around him in a practiced motion. 

“Of course it’s a yes, Lance. How can you even doubt it?” Keith whispers.

He stutters and his question sounds more like a whine:

“Why were you laughing, then?”

“Is that why you didn’t want me to talk before? You thought that I was going to propose to you?”

If anything, Lance is even more shocked as he gapes. “Weren’t you??”

Keith chuckles again and rubs his nose to Lance’s chin and bottom lip but stops before kissing him again, saying “Nope,” instead and moving away from him. 

Lance whimpers, lost. “What? Why? But you looked all serious and worried like you do whenever you are thinking about something important.”

“I was, serious and thinking about something important, it just… wasn’t that?” 

He seems to be getting uneasy so Lance decides to stop complaining and just wait for him to explain. He sits down on the couch, clutching the box in his hands for dear life and nods encouragingly.

“Thank you,” Keith says, releasing the breath he was holding.

“Lance, I… Have never known what loving someone meant before I met you. Being with you these past years, living with you for real, not like we did back in the Castle of Lions, taught me what it means to feel cared for and to rely on someone else without the need to keep barriers around and, let’s say it, my room in this apartment has been nothing more than a storage space for some time already. It might seem redundant to say this now but… I want to keep living with you, in a proper house this time, with a garden and a porch and a room that’s going to be ours. We probably won’t be able to spend too much time in there because we will be away on missions a lot but I want you to have it. I know how important it is for you to have a place to call home and I… Want to be a part of it, so… Here. Congratulations.”

Lance takes the paper envelope Keith is offering with care, giving his own gift in return. Inside, there is a bundle of papers and a small and shiny thing at the bottom. He decides to give his attention to the latter first. He turns it around through his fingers and his breath catches in his throat.

“Keith! This is beautiful! Where did you find it?”

“I... Drew it and asked a jeweler to recreate it… I hope you like it,” Keith says, bashful.

“I like it? This is… I have never seen anything this perfect! And I see myself in the mirror every morning, so that’s saying a lot, you know?”

Keith jabs him lightly on one side and sits next to him. “See, it’s like us. I would be always nervous and angry if it wasn’t for you.”

Lance smiles, caressing the item in his hand like it’s the most precious thing he has ever held. It’s a keychain, in white gold with blue and red gemstones in the form of their two Lions. Red is mid-roar, ready to snap and attack but Blue has her nose pressed to the side of her head, her eyes closed and smiling, their tails twisted together.

“Thank you, Keith.”

“No, thank you.”

“... I can’t believe that you didn’t want to propose to me, though. How could you not? I mean-”

“Lance,” he interrupts.

Lance giggles. “I’m kidding.”

“Those papers are houses that I found that could be suitable, I didn’t know if you wanted to stay here or move closer to your family so they are scattered between those two places, and if you don’t like any of them we don’t have to go see them. I’m sorry, I’m probably bad at this.”

“I’m sure they are going to be perfect,” he replies tenderly, his hands finding their way to Keith’s left one. 

Keith bites his bottom lip and nods tentatively as Lance slides the ring in his finger.

“I would love to have the cheesiest, most disgustingly perfect house with you,” Lance says and if some happy tears fall from their eyes, no one has to know about it. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on Tumblr if you want! [Here's the link!](https://onpointedfeetandbrokendreams.tumblr.com)
> 
> There is art for this fic?? I never thought I'd say this, really, I am so happy!! Go check out these two lovely and amazing artists <3 <3  
> [Selfie with the crepes from chapter 2](http://red--rosso.tumblr.com/post/172183378646/ispired-by-a-fanfic-wrote-by-a-dear)  
> [The hug from chapter 2](https://dyinginjapanese.tumblr.com/post/173589642114/sometimes-you-dont-have-to-be-the-right-person)


End file.
